If you’re happy with your phone but not happy with your telco, Telstra has finally come to the party, offering dedicated BYO mobile plans to its lineup. They’re relatively good value, too!
There are plans across the standard cap plan prices, as detailed below:
• $49 Plan with $550 monthly call allowance, unlimited standard national SMS and 1.5GB of data to use in Australia.
• $59 Plan with $800 monthly call allowance, 2GB of data use in Australia, unlimited standard national SMS and unlimited MessageBank retrieval.
• $79 Plan with $1,200 monthly call allowance, 2.5GB of data to use in Australia, unlimited standard national SMS and unlimited MessageBank retrieval.
• $99 Plan with an unlimited monthly call allowance for standard national voice and video calls, SMS and MessageBank retrieval, 3GB of data to use in Australia, $50 of international calling value.
It seems mind boggling that it was little over a year ago you had to pay through the nose to get more than 200MB of data on an entry level cap plan, and now this $49 offering includes 1.5GB.
keep in mind with this offering though that you’ll need to sign up for a contract, which won’t include getting a new phone, so be prepared to stick with your current handset for at least another 12 months if you decide to sign up for one of these plans…
[Telstra]
Your Mate Alex
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:25 AMThis looks perfect for me. How do you know you need to sign a 12 month contract to get these deals?
Jay
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:41 AMWhat’s the point, if there is a 12 month contract, then on the $49 one could well expect the Samsung Galaxy Tab phone which vodafone offers on a $29 24mo contract.
Big corporations can never market their products well, coz they have *BIG* greeds.
Ian
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:41 AMIf this didn’t have a 12 month lock in, I would be sold.
Raymond Lee
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 11:44 AMHow do these work in regards to the iPhone? Like if I was to import one.
ballzingski
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 5:47 PMyou would be fine the iphones have quad band 3g radios in em. So you’ll get next G 3g. (850mhz)
annon
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 12:04 PMThis is still a long way from the flexibility that of the monthly rolling contract available in the UK. If you have a phone but don’t want to commit to a full 12/18/24 month contract due to a new model being released or you’re not out there for the full length of the contract, you can opt for a contract that you pay for each month until you decide to cancel. It offers greater value for money than pre-pay and as soon as that next gen smartphone you’ve been holding out for is available you can then sign up for a new contract.
The Australian (or at least Telstra who I’m with) pre-pay is similar but its a hassle of buying credit each month and the value for money in terms of data/text/calls is no where near what a contract gives you.
Ritik
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12:41 AMI disagree with that. A $50 recharge gives you $350 credit, 2GB of data and unlimited talk and text on weekends. Plus the $50 credit can be used towards phone calls (bringing total credit to $400), or be used to purchase additional data packs, text packs or talk packs. Frankly I think this is a way better deal, plus I can survive on the $30 monthly recharge so it works for me.
Daniel
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 12:14 PMDoesn’t help if you’re stuck on one of their old shitty plans and they won’t let you upgrade (you know pay them MORE) to get on these.
Thunder Thunder-Mountain
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2:30 PMDaniel: if your previous contract included a phone, they’ll charge you a monthly recurring fee for the phone, but should still let you go onto the new plan. If your previous plan didn’t include a phone and you’re moving to a higher monthly fee, they should let you change no worries.
Ian
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 1:05 PMConfirmed with T. 12 or 24 month contracts. Which stinks. T are missing the boat. I am off contract, another carrier and biding time until new iPhone. Lost opportunity for T.
M
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 1:23 PMFinally come to the party? How is a 12 month contract new or innovative? Bring on the Month to Month, that’s a real BYO plan.
nick
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 1:26 PMTake a look at the TPG offering (using Optus) its much better value and no contracts.Im loving it, especially coming from Vodafone.
Adam
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2:08 PMI’m also with TPG, liking it a lot at the moment. Seems exactly as when I was with Optus, only thing is I’m paying around $18 instead of $50 a month.
Only downside is 13/1300 numbers arent included in the plan I’m using, so they cost extra.
That’s why I use this: http://www.e164.org/non-search.php (finds a normal number)
Chookie.06
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2:24 PMKeep is mind people that these are service contracts with no phone attached. Meaning you can sign up for one of these BYO plans, wait for the phone you want and then sign up to a new contract with the phone included and NOT have to pay any early exit fees!! – provided that you stick with telstra
Mark
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2:47 PMThanks Adam for the URL. Could be really helpful although I don’t dial a lot of 13 or 1300 numbers. (Except TPG twice when migrating to them – they do provide the normal 02 number on their site as well)…
I’m also with TPG on a no-contract term. And since I have ADSL with them as well I only pay $14.99 a month. Only downside is the slowness and network coverage of Optus. You would at least expect from Optus that they have a decent coverage in Brisbane and surroundings. Walk inside a building and your 3G connection is gone. Only GPRS. Can’t use Viber via 3G as it’s too slow.
Komi
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 10:23 AMWhat’s the point of paying *only* $14.99 a month if the network is slow and has poor network coverage. Doesn’t sound like much of a bargain to me. Sounds like you’re throwing away $14.99 per month.
nicky
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 11:35 PMi’ve been with optus/virgin for 8 years…never had any issues
David
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:06 PMSeems reasonable. Means I can buy an unlocked Nexus S and move over to Telstra when my Voda contact is up in 2 months.
Tai Tai
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:44 PMIf you all want to join Telstra but hate the lock-in contract, go prepaid. It’s that simple. I don’t know why there’s so much fear out there with going prepaid.
Telstra Prepaid is one of the hidden gems of mobile plans with it’s rollover of credit, talk and text.
Sacha
Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 5:13 PMI’m a telstra employee and the part that says you will be stuck with your current handset for at least 12 months is not 100% correct. By not taking a phone you can re-contract within the 12 month period to get a new phone on a 24 month contract with no break fees. So NO you are not stuck with your current handset for at least 12 months……