Optus dodges mobile in latest cap bundle

Optus is offering consumers what they claim is the first joint phone and broadband cap in Australia.

The telco has launched a suite of new combined plans under the brand "Fusion", which include line rental, unlimited local and national calls, as well as calls to Optus mobiles and broadband connectivity for one single monthly bill.

The company is planning to target consumers and small businesses with the Fusion plans, which will come in three tiers: one with 2GB of broadband data for AU$69 a month, a 7GB version for AU$89 and a 20GB scheme for AU$99. All three include free modems, although only the most expensive plan will come with wireless kit. However, Optus will also for the first time count both uploads and downloads in the users' monthly data quota, something done by few other Australian ISPs.

The Fusion caps will only be available over Optus's unbundled local loop network, which will eventually cover nearly four million homes when it's finished next year, and its cable network.

An Optus spokesperson said that the company has no immediate plans to bundle mobile connectivity with the Fusion cap.

"It's the fixed line market that needs a big shake-up right now. Mobile is pretty competitive at the moment," she said. "[Mobile] is something we're thinking about -- it's an obvious next step."

The telco has also revealed a new partnership with MySpace which will allow users of the social networking site to access its features using their handset.

From August, MySpace users will be able to get to the site direct from their mobiles or via the Optus Mobile portal to update their MySpace blogs, add friends, post comments and view photos.