Telstra plan prices will increase from 5th May, with both prepaid and postpaid plans becoming a bit more expensive.
Consistent price increases of groceries, fuel, interest rates, and more mean this phone plan increase is the latest in a long line of strikes at Australians’ wallets.
The telco says network load and investment is the reason for increasing prices, but it’s tough to accept when the current investors report shows profit is up 8.1 percent over the prior period and strong earnings momentum due to reduced ongoing operations expenses.
It’s no secret that Telstra hasn’t been the best value option on the market, but the new price increase affirms the point.
Postpaid Price Increases
Most postpaid Telstra plan prices are increasing by $4 per month. Premium plans will stay the same at $99 per month. Telstra One number pricing will increase by $3 – this is an addon for sharing your number with wearable devices.
The “Starter” plan is also set to retire from 5th May, meaning it will no longer be available to new customers. Existing customers will stay on the plan at the new price.
Telstra will add a new “Access” plan that’s designed for affordable pricing and basic connectivity. It will have capped data speeds, but supports emails, checking websites, and low-quality video calling.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed for the Access plan.
| Plan | Old Pricing | New Pricing |
| Starter | $50 per month, 5GB data | $55 per month, 5GB data |
| Basic | $70 per month, 50GB data | $74 per month, 50GB data |
| Essential | $80 per month, 180GB data | $84 per month, 180GB data |
| Premium | $99 per month, 300GB data | $99 per month, 300GB data |
| Mobile Bundle | $57 per month, 25GB data | $61 per month, 25GB data |
Prepaid Price Increases
Prepaid Telstra plan prices are going up across the board, with most plans seeing an increase of $5 per month. The seven-day plan recharge increases to $15 from $13 and includes an extra gigabyte of data.
Other prepaid plans include a higher data allocation, with most receiving a 10 gigabyte boost.
| Expiry | Old Pricing | New Pricing |
| 7 days | $13, 30GB data | $15, 4GB data |
| 28 days | $39, 15GB data | $44, 20GB data |
| 28 days | $49, 25GB data | $54, 35GB data |
| 28 days | $59, 35GB data | $64, 45GB data |
| 28 days | $69, 70GB data | $74, 80GB data |
| 6 months | $180, 70GB data | $200, 80GB data |
| 12 months | $350, 165GB data | $395, 180GB data |
Mobile Broadband Price Increases
Mobile Broadband plans are also seeing increases across both prepaid and postpaid options. Postpaid sees a minor increase while prepaid options roughly follow the prepaid mobile plan schedule.
| Plan | Old Pricing | New Pricing |
| Small | $30 per month, 30GB | $33 per month, 30GB |
| Medium | $65 per month, 100GB | $68 per month, 100GB |
| Data Bundle | $15, 10GB additional | $20, 10GB additional |
| Expiry | Old Pricing | New Pricing |
| 14 days | $25, 15GB data | $25, 15GB data |
| 28 days | $39, 25GB data | $44, 30GB data |
| 28 days | $49, 35GB data | $54, 40GB data |
| 28 days | $59, 45GB data, uncapped speed | $64, 50GB data, uncapped speed |
| 28 days | $74, 300GB data, uncapped speed | $74, 300GB data, uncapped speed |
| 6 months | $180, 70GB data | $200, 80GB data |
| 12 months | $350, 220GB data | $395, 240GB data |
Concession Card Holders
Concession card holders including Pensioner, Health Care, and Veteran Affairs Gold cards will be eligible for a 10 percent discount to postpaid mobile plans excluding the Access and Starter plans.
The discount will be available from 1st July onwards, bringing prices slightly below their pre-increase amounts.
Bottom Line
Telstra’s cheapest postpaid plan will be $74 per month with 50GB data and the cheapest prepaid plan will be $44 for a 28 day recharge with $20GB data.
That means Telstra plan prices are still significantly higher than any other telco in Australia, and about $20 more expensive than its two biggest competitors.
Telstra’s MVNO options like Belong and Boost Mobile offer a better value proposal than mainline Telstra plans, but they’re still not that competitive compared to other resellers.
It’s no wonder that customers would look to smaller competitors for a better deal.
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