It’s been a big week for Telstra. After announcing new data inclusions and a free Presto subscription on Monday, Australia’s biggest Telco will now drastically drop its overage fees. Surprisingly, the new charges are exactly in line with those from Optus and Vodafone.
The new pricing will be available to all current Telstra mobile customers, even those in the middle of their contract.
Currently, on Telstra, you’ll run up a bill of 3c per MB if you go over your monthly cap. That’s less that you would have paid a few years ago, but it’s about 3x what the two biggest competitors charge… sort of.
Auto top-ups are ultimately a good thing
Both Optus and Vodafone have switched to an auto-upgrade system. If you go over your cap you’re automatically notified and charged $10, for which you receive and extra 1GB until the end of the month. Go over again and the same thing happens, ad infinitum. This works out to roughly 1c per MB and at the end of the month your plan reverts back to its regular form.
Of course, Telstra’s currently method of charging per MB more-accurately reflects your actual usage. You’re unlikely to use precisely that extra 1GB for which you’re charged and any extra MB you don’t make use of will vanish come month’s end.
Despite this seemingly large flaw, this new model has proven popular. And for good reason. It removes the worry behind overuse by making it a transparent feature of the plan itself. Worried you’ll go over your cap this month? Don’t. It’s unlikely it’ll run you more than a tenner.
Telstra following suit
Optus was the first to switch to this method of charging around mid last-year and was quickly followed by Vodafone.
Telstra was expected to follow suit eventually, but perhaps not in a mere 6 months and certainly not with the same prices.
Stacked blocks image from Shutterstock
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
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