Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 31 July 2008 12:49
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
Data is data, whichever way you get it, and the tremendous price differences for what is the same thing is astounding and unnecessary.
One company that charges the same rates for data on modems and phones is Telstra, but Telstra charge the highest rates for mobile data in Australia. While it’s nice that they have pricing parity, it’s still annoying to see 3 Mobile charging $49 per month for 7GB while Telstra charges $119 per month for 3GB.
Telstra’s reasoning is that its network offers data speeds that are double that of competitors, and has a network that covers 99% of Australia’s population, all of which is true and no-one denies.
But it doesn’t make users happy, whether they’re in metro areas that don’t have ADSL or cable, or are in rural or regional areas where the only other alternative is even more expensive satellite broadband, or simply want the faster speeds that Telstra offers.
Telstra actually has lowered prices already on its data plans – last year the 3GB plan cost $189 per month, not $119. But it’s still way more than competitors charge.
So, for Telstra to have come out with some price reductions seems to indicate that they realise they can’t keep prices high forever, that Optus’ iPhone plans have been far more popular than Telstra’s because they’re simply more affordable, even without the benefits of increased range and better reception in lifts, carparks and other areas where phones normally drop out.
So why does Telstra’s Consumer Marketing and Channels Executive Director, Glenice Maclellan, say that Telstra has been able to make these changes?
Maclellan said that Telstra was able to increase data capacity for customers on its “most popular” plans (could Telstra mean the “cheapest” plans?) because it has four million customers which enabled it to “increase its understanding of mobile data use”, as well as take advantage of “enhanced network capacity and spectrum following the closure of the CDMA network in late April.”
Maclellan explained that: “Telstra’s Next G network enables the latest handset features to come to life at turbo-charged speeds, so customers can experience greater functionality and superior content as device manufacturers catch up with Next G capabilities.
More from Glenice Maclellan and Telstra’s new pricing on page 3, along with info on lowered excess data rates and a delay on when existing customers can expect to be automatically updated to the new plans
