2degrees announces 50MB data bundle and $10 text

2degrees announcement

Until now, 2degrees’ mobile offering has been somewhat of a cruel mistress for iPhone users – attractive calling rates, but expensive data caps (50c per MB) and 2G speeds. Well, something had to change and this afternoon, one of these issues has been addressed in an announcement made by the company via a press event in Auckland. Available immediately are two new optional packages – a 50MB data plan and a $10 text bundle. Yes folks, 2degrees finally just became a serious option for iPhone users – but does it stack up against the other players?

First, let’s take a look at the data cap. On offer is a bundle of 50MB for $6 which can be renewed as many times as you like within the month. So if you top-up with $6 and use the 50MB within a week, you can top-up with another $6 to receive another 50MB allocation.

This is a far superior offering compared to the original rate of 50c per MB with no cap or further discounting. Under that scheme, the same allocation of 50MB would have cost $25. But how does it compare to the competition?

Initially, these compare favourably to both Telecom and Vodafone’s data bundle offerings. On the former’s prepaid network $6 will buy you just 20MB of data, however the maths skew in favour of Telecom once you’ve gone beyond 50MB as Telecom will provide 120MB for $12 versus 100MB for the same amount on 2degrees. Vodafone’s offering comes in at $10 for 100MB (effectively undercutting 2degrees by a dollar for the same 50MB allowance). Both Telecom and Vodafone offer further plans for usage beyond these amounts which discount the price per MB further.

2degrees claims that this package “creates new opportunities for iPhone users” and is clearly trying to appeal to those who signed into 2-year terms with Vodafone for an iPhone 3G by pointing out that while such users were “initially locked into high-price data commitments, many iPhone users will shortly have the opportunity to consider better value options with another provider.”

This is true… but we’d have to question how many people who were in a position to agree to a two-year postpaid contract would now be looking to consider a pre-paid option, especially considering that the alternative data bundles available out-of-contract on either Telecom or Vodafone are on the face of it considerably more attractive for intensive high data users which iPhone users invariably tend to be. Still, it’s great to have the third option.

As for the text offering, 2degrees have come to the table with a $10 text deal that includes 500 texts to any network. The package auto renews each calendar month and to get the party started 2degrees are offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal whereby customers can “access this offer once, to receive a $10 credit to spend on another $10 Text Pack that will kick in the following month.”

Telecom’s prepaid text offering gives just 150 texts for the same price or 2,500 texts for $12, so similar scales of economy apply here to the data comparisons. Vodafone’s text-bundle offerings start at $10 for 2,000 texts.

Both the data package and the $10 text deal are available immediately and can be activated by sending a text saying ‘buy 50mb’ or ‘buy 10txt’ (depending on which pack you want) to 233. Head over to the 2degrees site for the full low-down but before you do, be sure to let us know what you think of these deals in the comments. Will you making the switch? Perhaps you’re already with 2degrees – has this made your week or do you feel like shopping around now? Let us know!