Today Optus released new prepaid pricing for the iPhone 3G, and resumed sale of the handset nationwide. Optus mysteriously stopped selling the [prepaid] iPhone a few months after its initial release, making them only available at the company’s Sydney CBD store. Recently Optus increased the price of their Post-Paid plans, so prepaid price hikes were expected by the end of the year.
Under Optus’ new pricing structure, purchasing a prepaid 8GB iPhone locked to the Optus network costs $799 (up from $729). 16GB iPhones are now $899 (up from $849). Unlocking the handset for use with any network now costs $120 (or $120 worth of Optus turbo recharge).
Optus’ price hikes do not effect existing prepaid customers, so if you have purchased a iPhone before today’s announcements, you can still legitimately unlock the device for $80 (or $80 worth of Optus turbo recharge).
Despite today’s news, there’s still no word as to Apple selling prepaid iPhones in their Retail Stores.
