Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 21 May 2008 10:44
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
Well, choosing a different provider is where things get interesting – and cheaper.
The price saving also evaporates compared with, say, Vodafone’s monthly 5GB for $39 per month, which works out at $468 per year and $1404 for 3 years. Add $1404 to a $1225 laptop on Flexirent and you get $2629, or $935 less than Telstra’s $0 laptop deal.
None of this takes into account any depreciation or tax deductible costs, it’s just the ‘raw figures’. But on those raw figures either Vodafone or Optus (not forgetting Three either who offer 1GB per month for $15 per month) are much better value.
Telstra does offer 'half price' for the first 6 or 12 months for business users on the standard Next G plans (not this $0 laptop offer plan), IF they have one or more existing Telstra services - but if not, you won't get any discounts. This additional discount does reduce the difference between the savings you'll achieve if you get your own laptop on flexirent (or outright for cash) and sign up to a 36 month Next G deal compared with the $0 deal.
There’s also the issue of just how much 1GB per month really is. I personally get lots of junk mail I can’t stop – which chews up several megabytes at least in unwanted email downloads every day.
There are updates to the operating system and Internet security/anti-virus programs on a regular basis which can chew up the download limit – so you’ll need to keep an eye on how much you use each month, and try to do any major updates on your home Internet connection so as not to waste your wireless download limit.
Still, Telstra’s advantage is still in having Australia’s fastest wireless broadband network with the largest coverage by far. If that’s important to you, it doesn’t matter how much less it might cost to go with Optus or Vodafone.
But if it isn’t all that important because you spend most of your time in existing 3G coverage areas (i.e. the major capital cities), then you can get a better deal elsewhere than Telstra, as we’ve explored, and as you may well have already both guessed – and expected.
So what are Telstra’s reasons for going with this $0 offer anyway? Let’s examine their press release.
Telstra says they are making this promotional offer with “selected dealers” so they can help “meet growing customer demand for mobile broadband on the Next G network.”
Cathy Aston, an Executive Director of Telstra Business, says in the press release that laptops with Next G mobile broadband cards are fast becoming the "must have" business accessory for 2008.
While I agree with that personally, the proviso I’d make is that it is all flavours of mobile broadband data cards are becoming must have accessories for laptop owners in general – both consumers and business.
But we can’t expect Telstra to do anything but promote Next G, it’s only natural after all, they’re not in the business of promoting their competitors - it’s up to competitors to shout from the rooftops that they have much better value offerings.
Interestingly Aston noted just how popular mobile broadband has become in Australia with a stat that seems to include “mobile workers” across networks in aggregate – not just Next G users. Aston said that: "Since Telstra switched on the Next G network in 2005 more people are taking their work with them wherever they go - it's estimated more than three million Australians are now mobile workers.”
Aston’s claim that Next G was started in 2005 is a bit startling – is it really two and a half years old now? If so, it’s amazing how time flies. I tried calling Telstra’s media hotline to double check and got through to voicemail, but didn’t leave a message.
So, what is Aston’s – and Telstra’s – actual reasoning behind the $0 laptop deal? Please read onto page 3.
