
Telstra has doubled international roaming data inclusions for customers on one of its Upfront mobile plans. Customers now get 2GB per 24 hours, up from 1GB, when using the telco's "International Day Pass" system.
Pricing is still the same, with customers paying either $5 per day or $10 per day depending on where they're travelling. Telstra has however increased the number of eligible $5 per day destinations.
New Zealand was previously the only $5 per day Telstra roaming destination, but Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu are now all also eligible for cheaper roaming.
Note that there are still a small number of destinations that Telstra's $10 per day roaming allows for talk and text, but without data. These include Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jamaica, and Jersey.
Customers who exceed their daily 2GB allowance will be charged $10 for a 2GB top-up. This comes with a 31-day expiry, and can be used on each day overseas where the initial 2GB is exceeded.
While Telstra has quite literally doubled the value of its international roaming offer, it still lags behind Optus and Vodafone in terms of pure value. Optus charges $5 per day with a 5GB data allowance, while Vodafone's $5 per day roaming allows customers to use their local data while overseas.
Smaller providers - including a number of Telstra MVNOs - have also been more competitive with roaming offers lately.
Telstra's budget brand Belong, for example, charges $30 for 3GB of roaming data with a 15-day expiry. While that's worse from a data-per-dollar perspective, it's a much better value in terms of a per-day rate. Belong's roaming only works in around 45 destinations, however. Telstra's works in around 80.
Telstra's roaming changes come ahead of price rises due to kick in from August 27. Most of its mobile plans will be increasing by between $2 and $4 per month.
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Alex Choros