What is Data Rollover and how does this Plan Work in Australia for Android Mobile?

Data rollover is a service for mobile phones which allows you to make use of unused data from the previous month by having it rolled over and lumped in with your data for the current month. Only a few providers in Australia offer it, but not on all plans, so it may be hard to find a suitable plan with data rollover. Data may be shifted for an unlimited period in rare cases, but you often only get the remaining data from the previous billing period.

This plan is quite popular, as it can give you significantly more value for money especially if you’re a heavy data user.  This plan may or may not come with your prepaid phone plan, Post pair phone plan or any other mobile data plan.

How does Data Roll overwork?

Well, you must have seen that many of the telecom service providers simply give you a 28 or 30-day month plan to use all of your data before it is dead. But if you don’t use that much data on the given time limit means you paid for that service that you needn’t need it. Some phone users might be happy enough to pay extra ‘just in case they need the extra data, but for others, this is just a waste of money. So few telcos then create data shifting for such consumers and carry on that data on their current or coming month plan. Suppose you use only 1GB of your 6GB phone plan one month, then need something like 7GB the next month, data rollover could be your ticket to data freedom.

Which Telecos in Australia Provide such Plans?

Providers such as Telstra, Optus, ALDI Mobile, Belong Mobile and Woolworths Mobile all offer data rollover with some plans. Data rollover often features in their prepaid plans, with the proviso that you recharge before the credit expiry. Also, most are SIM-only plans:

• Telstra: ‘Plus’ Prepaid plans from $30
• Optus: ‘Ultimate Plus’ prepaid plans from $10
• ALDI Mobile: Prepaid ‘Value’ plans from $15
• Belong Mobile: Postpaid plans from $30
• Woolworths Mobile: Prepaid plans from $30

1. Telstra Data Rollover Plans

Australia’s largest mobile plan provider offers credit rollover for all of its prepaid plans – this means you can get rollover of your calls and texts for all prepaid plans, but not data rollover as such. To get data rollover, you’ll usually be stuck with a ‘Plus’ plan. As usual, the rule of having to recharge before the expiry applies here.

Note that many of Telstra’s plans come with Telstra Air data, as well as data-free streaming of the NRL, AFL and Netball and Data rollover commonly feature on plans with prepaid phones bundled in.

With Telstra, prepaid plans with data rollover start at $30 and cost up to $50 a month. The cheapest plan with unlimited calls and texts is $40 per 28-day recharge. The rollover limit applies to the data you didn’t use on the previous recharge, unlike Virgin Mobile, which has a 12GB cap.

2. Optus Data Rollover Plans

Similar to Telstra, Optus lets you roll over up to 10GB of unused data on your prepaid phone plan if you recharge before your expiry date. Plans start at just $10, in which you get 500MB of data, plus  100 minutes of calls and unlimited texts over 7 days.

Optus is also known to provide data-free music streaming with many of its plans, plus other perks. Optus also commonly offers bonus data if you set your plan to auto-recharge. So if you’re not particularly impressed by what Optus has to offer, you may find yourself getting a lot more data if you think about both the recharge data bonus, as well as the data rollover of up to 10GB.

3. ALDI Mobile Data Rollover Plans

It is notably one of the only Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) to let customers roll over their data into the next recharge. ALDI operates on the Telstra network but its data rollover feature is only present on a few plans. All five ‘Value’ plans are available with data rollover: Small ($15), Large ($25), XL ($35), XXL ($45), Jumbo ($55)

All of these plans come with unlimited calls and texts as well. Unlike other providers, ALDI’s plans are available with a 30-day expiry. However, data rollover is not time-unlimited; your rolled-over data only lasts one extra recharge. Below is how ALDI’s plans with the data-rollover look.

4. Belong Mobile Data Rollover Plans

This has a SIM-only mobile scene, with unlimited calls & texts plus 5GB of data starting at only $30. It operates on the Telstra network and is the only provider in this list to offer data rollover on postpaid plans. Belong calls it ‘data banking’. All unused data is able to be banked and stored away for when you need it.

As it stands, Belong offers one of the most generous data rollover set-ups in the game, with unlimited banking with plans on a postpaid basis – a rare feat. Belong SIM cards are available in some 7-Elevens, Coles, Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and Australia Post outlets.

5. Woolworths Mobile Plans

This mobile operates on the Telstra network and has prepaid plans starting at just $15. However, to get data rollover you’ll need to spend at least $30. Data rollover is available on plans $30 and over, and up to 15GB can be rolled over. Everyday Rewards Cardholders get a 10% discount, too.

Woolworths benefits from having international minutes on many plans, plus bonus data from time to time. It also has a suite of phones on a plan, including the Galaxy S8.

Note that Vodafone notably does not feature data rollover on its plans. Vodafone does have credit rollover on a lot of its prepaid plans, which means that your call and text allowances may roll over. Vodafone is known to provide data bonuses from time to time and its credit rollover feature may still be worth a look into.

What do you need to check before you take the Data Roll Over Plan?

• You need to check the terms and conditions on these data rollover plans
• Also, see if there are any restrictions that apply to your particular plan. Among other specifications, it may be the case that you can only rollover your unused data once and not every month, for example.
• Check that you are getting the best value for these plans.
• If you often use up nearly all your data cap, you won’t have much data to roll over in the first place
• If you don’t get anywhere near your plan’s data cap then the rolled-over data will likely remain unused next time anyway
• Often only prepaid plans feature data rollover; those wanting a postpaid plan may have to miss out

In the case of not using anywhere near your data cap, you may want to consider switching to a cheaper plan with fewer data. Data rollover suits those with fluctuating data usage so simply don’t just pick a plan because it has data rollover, but if you find comparable plans, it’s a good point of difference.

What are the best Data Rollover Plans?

Telstra’s Data Bank is the gold standard for rollover, allowing you to accumulate unused data over many months, up to a total of 50GB. You’ll tap into this stash whenever you reach your limits. The Data Bank is also a part of Belong SIM-Only Postpaid plans.

All other data rollover plans let you access the unused data from one month to the following month, so long as you recharge your account before the credit expires.

Most of the telcos now have a plan option with 20GB of data per recharge, or more. TPG is currently offering a discount for the first 6 months of service, bringing the price down to $25 per month, and putting it well ahead of the competition. The plan also includes 100 minutes of international calls, which we don’t see much across the range of prepaid offers.

With this much data included, keep an eye out for the telcos that offer data rollover. The new Optus plans allow you to roll over up to 50GB of unused data into the next month, for example. Boost Mobile and Aldi Mobile also have a rollover function as a standard feature for all plans.

Now choose the one you wish to go for if you think that you need such a plan for your Android mobile.