Optus will today launch unlimited data roaming for Aussie travellers to Asia in the guide of pre-paid Bridge DataRoamUnlimited packs.
A three-day pack will cost $27, while the five day pack for $40. Both provide unlimited data on the network of Optus' Bridge Alliance partners.
This includes mobile carriers in Hong Kong (CSL), Indonesia (Telkomsel), Malaysia (Maxis), Philippines (Globe Telecom), Singapore (SingTel), South Korea (SK Telecom), Taiwan (Taiwan Mobile) and Thailand (AIS).
Optus plans to extend the unlimited data deal to Macau and India in the coming months.
You'll need to manually select the appropriate roaming partner on your smartphone or 3G tablet or you'll be slugged for 'casual' roaming charges of a whopping $15/MB. Those fees will also kick in once you pass the three-day or five-day mark.
It's also worth noting that each pack can be used only in a single country – so if you're starting in Singapore and then hopping up to Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong, for example, you'll need one Bridge DataRoamUnlimited pack for each destination.
However, if you plan to be in a single country for longer than five days you can purchase more than one pack and have each one activated one after the other.
The trick is that, according to an Optus spokesman, "you’ll need to specify the date you’d like it to commence so you can purchase in advance" – so there's no flexibility if your travel plans change at the last minute, after you've bought the pack and specified the start date in advance.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
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