TAG | OMG! Telstra iPhone 3G plans – worst in the world? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 11 July 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 4 Starting with AT&T in the US which let original iPhone owners pay US $20 per month for unlimited EDGE speed data, and charging iPhone 3G users US $30 per month for unlimited 3G speed data, AT&T did make you pay for data separate to your voice plan but unlimited data certainly does speak volumes. There’s also still an open question over whether Telstra’s iPhone 3G will work at speeds faster than 1.4Mbps, the maximum speed that AT&T says its iPhone works at. As we know, Telstra’s 3.5G network operates at speeds of up to 14.4Mbps, although no commercially available phones yet work at that speed. However there are 7.2Mbps class devices on the market, such as the i-mate Ultimate 9502 and 8502 series of Windows Mobile smartphones, also sold by Telstra, but even though the iPhone 3G is supposed to have a 7.2Mbps class chip inside, the tech press has said that the iPhone has been speed limited to 1.4Mbps to ensure faster 3G doesn’t drain the battery even faster than it already does. So whether Telstra’s Next G network can deliver faster speeds than the competition to the iPhone 3G is yet to be seen, but Telstra can at least claim to offer 3.5G speeds across 99% of Australia’s population today, something no other telco can claim, which Telstra uses as a reason/excuse to have the highest data charges down under. So what are the official Telstra plans which have finally now been released? Well, before we get to the pricing, Telstra’s 24-month iPhone plans give you some voice, text and browsing, but decidedly not much in the browsing department. In addition, Telstra does offer free access to Telstra Wi-Fi spots in major metropolitan CBD areas and elsewhere, but that won't help you on the bus, train or wherever a Telstra Wi-Fi spot isn't. Hopefully there is also some easy, easy way to find out your iPhone data usage so you avoid racking up massive bills for data usage. Also whether things like Mobile Foxtel and others are included is unknown to me as I write this. So... the plans themselves: There's a AUD $30 per month plan, $40, $60, $80, $100, $150, $250 and $350 iPhone plan. The upfront cost of an 8GB iPhone 3G changes depending on the monthly plan. On the $30 plan, an 8GB iPhone 3G costs AUD $279. On the $40 plan, the 8GB costs AUD $169. On the $60 plan, it costs $59. On the $80 plan, it costs $0 And on the remaining higher plans, the iPhone costs $0. Continued on page 2. |
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