With Telstra’s announcement overnight that it is building the infrastructure to kill off bill shock by throttling users’ mobile data speeds once they’d exceeded their monthly allowance, we’ve started wondering if maybe there isn’t a place for both plans.
Think about it – some people are power users who chew through the gigabytes like they’re salted peanuts. For them, the prospect of throttled speeds could be detrimental to their work performance. Maybe they’d prefer to get a big bill at the end of the month, so long as they knew their work was done well.
Likewise, maybe users are prepared to sign up for fewer gigabytes for the knowledge that once they’ve used them up, there’s nothing more to pay.
Let us know what situation you think would work best for you in the poll below.
IanS
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:09 PMPerhaps a prepaid data plan…$9.90 for 30 days on Amaysim with online top up is smarter???
wsDK_II
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:49 PMahh, i feel sorry for you. I spose when your company falls over you can come back to Telstra, we wont judge you
TSH
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:11 PMVodafone customer here. It would all depend on the actual shaped speed and the reliability of the service.
Ben
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:25 PMI think the problem is there really needs to be plans out there more catered towards heavy smartphone users.
I’m currently on a virgin plan $49 (handset included) for $300 of calls, free txts, and 2GB data. I would love a plan that would allow me to trade call credit for more data. I.e. $150 of calls, 4GB data. Usually at the end of the month I have used maybe $100 of calls, but will have used almost all of my 2GB of data.
tropolite
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:56 PMIt wouldn’t be hard to do what Internode does for their Broadband service.
If you hit your quota, you are emailed when you get to 70%, then 90% and 100%. Each time you can click on a link to buy another block of data (smaller incremental blocks) that would tie you over till the end of the billing month.
That way people can add more data if they need, while still retaining full throttle.
Albi Kl
Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 1:22 PMThat’s what Telstra’s doing.
Andreas
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 6:24 PMWith Vodafone it doesn’t really matter. Due to the poor coverage I can’t use much data so have no worries! :P
dk
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 6:29 PMIt is a good idea to throttle the speeds once you go over! I have seen my friends with bills exceeding over hundreds of dollars and crying over it!
Also the best part here is that in case of a power user if the speed is throttled (assuming it will be too slow), u can call Telstra to upgrade the plan. Unlike other providers, Telstra will change the plan same day, normally within 15-20 minutes, and you can enjoy faster speeds again! Pro Rata will apply!
Shaun
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 7:00 PMTelstra have a great network, but their prices are high. I would like to have more GB and the internet just stop all together instead of throttling. Have the option to add additionally GB’s if you need more. throttling is a waste of time with speeds reminiscent of dial up. Also 6 month contracts instead of the crazy 24 months.
adz
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 7:15 PMit would probably be shaped to 48kbps, but that is faster then what some voda customer experience. lol
Travis
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 7:34 PMThe best way to do this would be a OPT-IN option. For example Telstra could simply place a specific 3/4G code so it knows to throttles specific service.
JAK
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 7:37 PMI am fine with the 1GB of data I get every month with telstra I wouldn’t change but I would be happy to know that I don’t have to worry about going over
Dan
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 8:53 PMI’m on Optus with 3gb on my galaxy s. If I can get that and then have my speed capped once I reach it, and pay no more then $79 a month then sign me up.
Greg
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:34 PMI think it’s fairly obvious that both options will be available, with the sensible default being getting shaped.
The advantage is that whether you choose shaped or excess, you should then be able to add a data pack which is significantly cheaper than the PAYG rate.
Big win all round as far as I can tell.
Sicarius123
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:55 PMI pay for 3GB a month, reaching that would be an effort, but if I did breach it I’d much rather be throttled!
Mystery
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 10:37 PMwhy is it sacrificing GBs for throttling? wouldn’t you still get the same GB you signed up for??
Gazman
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 10:50 PMI would think that the way Telstra is handling it with “add on packs” of data is the best of both worlds…
Andy
Friday, May 27, 2011 at 2:57 AMI have my Optus iPhone plan, that gives me 6GB downloads per month. Only thing is, I can only download at consistent 7kb/s. I went and got a Telstra 21mbps dongle the other day while I wait for internet, and it was $100 for 3GB. So $33 /GB. But the ping is 50 – 60 so you can game, and it’s fast. So I kinda surprised.