Southern Phone Mobile plans and prices

Alex Kidman
Jun 11, 2024
Icon Time To Read3 min read


Southern Phone’s mobile phone plans are quite easy to understand, with a small range of available plans to choose from, all operating on the Optus 4G and 5G networks. Southern Mobile’s plans are effectively postpaid in operation for all plans, though its billing setup has elements of prepayment as well.

Southern Phone quick facts

  • Southern Phone’s mobile plans operate on the Optus network, covering 98.5% of the Australian population.
  • Southern Phone’s plans all include 5G access within 5G coverage areas
  • Southern Phone’s plans are certified carbon neutral

What are the different types of Southern Phone mobile plans?

Southern Phone’s very simple set of three plans are all technically postpaid plans, because unlike a prepaid plan, you can incur additional costs for certain types of usage that incur a cost. 

However, Southern Phone requires payment for its plans upfront at the start of each billing cycle, which is more in line with the way that prepaid plans operate. Still, no prepaid plan can add charges on without your express payment for those services, so they still fall under the postpaid banner; any additional charges are added to the next month’s payment request. 

All of Southern Phone’s plans work from either physical SIM cards or from  eSIMs. It is possible to switch from a physical SIM to an eSIM, but Southern Phone does note that there “may” be a $10 fee payable if you choose to do so. 

Southern Phone SIM-Only plans and prices

Southern Phone only offers three plans, helpfully labelled as “Small”, “Medium” or “Large” phone plans. Those size descriptions relate specifically to the quantity of mobile data you get with each plan, as all plans include unlimited standard mobile calls and texts as standard, along with $50 worth of call credit for standard international calls. 

For comparison, check out the daily updating list of postpaid plans below with at least 20GB of data.

What do you get with Southern Phone mobile plans?

Southern Phone mobile plan speeds

Southern Phone’s plans operate on the Optus 4G and 5G networks. While 5G network coverage nationally isn’t massively widespread, if you are in a 5G area, you will be speed capped to 100 MBps downstream, though there’s no speed restriction in play for 4G areas.

Southern Phone mobile plan data

Southern Phone’s smallest plan starts with a standard 20GB of data, doubled for its Medium plan at 40GB and then bounced up considerably for its Large plan which gives you 80GB of data. 

Go over quota and you’ll incur a $10 fee on your next bill for every 1GB of data usage – which means if you feel as though that’s likely, it would very quickly become more cost efficient to jump up to the next plan tier as soon as you can.

Southern Phone mobile plan international calls

As with the rest of its plan approach, Southern Phone’s International calling inclusions are on the simple side, with $50 of call credit each month on each plan to put towards standard international calls. Call rates vary depending on where it is you need to call, with Southern Phone’s international calling rates available here. 

Southern Phone mobile deals

If there’s a Southern Phone mobile deal today, you’ll see it below.

Southern Phone mobile plan features

Southern Phone’s key appeal is probably that it’s very simple and upfront about just a handful of plans, so there’s relatively little to consider or compare. All plans are offered on a month to month basis, but as they’re postpaid, if you were changing away from Southern Phone, you would have to settle any outstanding charges before you did so.

There are a lot of Optus MVNOs to choose from however, all essentially selling the same access to the same network, so it’s well worth comparing against what you can get from other Optus MVNOs.

Southern Phone mobile coverage map

Southern Mobile operates on the Optus Network with coverage for 98.5% of the Australian population. As with every other carrier and their coverage figures, that’s a measure of population, not landmass. There are notable areas where no carrier has signal coverage at all in Australia, and despite its name, Southern Phone is no different in this respect. 

As with other MVNOs, Southern Mobile will lose access to 3G network coverage; because it’s using Optus, that will occur in September 2024.

How to switch to Southern Phone

It’s a relatively straightforward process to switch from any one mobile provider to another in Australia. Follow these steps to make the switch to Southern Mobile:

Browse the selection of Southern Mobile plans available, then click the corresponding orange ‘Go to Site’ button (if available) next to the one you want. You’ll be taken directly to the Southern Mobile plans page where you can choose the plan that best suits your needs.

Click the “Purchase Now” button to start the process of signing up for a Southern Phone plan from there. As part of the signup process, you’ll be able to elect if you’re after a completely new mobile phone number or if you wish to transfer your existing mobile phone number.

Southern Phone frequently asked questions

What network is Southern Phone on?

Southern Phone runs on the Optus network. This includes the Optus 3G, 4G and 5G networks.

Does Southern Phone have data rollover?

No. All data inclusions on Southern Phone expire at the end of each billing period.

Does Southern Phone work internationally?

No; at the time of writing Southern Phone does not offer international roaming on its SIM only plans. 

Southern Phone features breakdown

Southern Phone plan features
Data rollover
Icon No  Dark
Auto prepaid recharge
Icon No  Dark
Data-free streaming
Icon No  Dark
Endless data
Icon No  Dark
Data sharing
Icon No  Dark
Rewards program
Icon No  Dark
$0 setup-fee plans
Icon Yes  Dark
International calls
Icon No  Dark
International roaming
Icon No  Dark
Discounted mobile plan
Icon No  Dark
Phones available
Icon Yes  Dark
Entertainment bundle
Icon No  Dark
Exclusive content offers
Icon No  Dark
eSIM
Icon Yes  Dark
Southern Phone network
Mobile network
Optus
Population covered
98.5%
5G network access
Icon Yes  Dark
4G network access
Icon Yes  Dark
3G network access
Will shut down September 2024
Southern Phone customer service
Customer forum (or blog)
Icon No  Dark
Crewed Twitter
Icon No  Dark
Facebook page
Icon Yes  Dark
Retail stores
Icon No  Dark
Phone support
Icon Yes  Dark
Usage-monitoring app
Icon Yes  Dark
Chat service
Icon No  Dark
Self-service online (FAQs)
Icon Yes  Dark
Email or messaging form
Icon No  Dark
Alex Kidman
Written by
Alex Kidman is some kind of word-generating AI from the future that somehow worked out how to sneak back in time to 1998 to start its journalism career. Across that time, including editorial stints at ZDNet, CNET, Gizmodo, PC Mag and Finder, as well as contributions to every major tech masthead, nobody has quite managed to figure out this deeply held secret. Let’s keep it between us, OK?

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