Telstra Offers Untimed calls in mobile plans
The Border Mail - Untimed calls in mobile plans
Untimed calls in mobile plans
Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo in TV advertisement that began last night.
TELSTRA says pricing plans for its NEXT G mobile broadband network offer untimed voice calls to most fixed lines and Telstra mobiles in Australia.
Telstra turned on its $1 billion NEXT G mobile broadband network on Friday, offering high-speed wireless mobile and internet access to 98 per cent of Australians.
The telco says it wants to claim leadership by May next year in the third generation, or 3G, market share for services such as mobile television, email and downloads.
To experience the advantages of the NEXT G network, consumers will pay at least $52 per month, which includes a $40 per month voice plan, and $12 for access to 12 channels of Foxtel for a maximum of 200 minutes.
This, however, does not include the 25c for each local text message, and data charges which can be on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Data charges — the cost of using the internet — can also be set at a $5, $8, or $29 monthly fees depending on the amount of data users intend to access.
Alternatively, users can pay $55 per month for a voice plan that includes a new mobile phone.
Telstra group managing director of consumer marketing and channels, David Moffatt, said customers had been increasingly frustrated by the so-called capped plans.
Capped plans, offered by Telstra and its rivals, Hutchison, Vodafone and Optus, include a $49 cost, for example, with $200 worth of calls, but a higher cost for calls after that.
“This is designed to provide Telstra customers transparency for pricing,” Mr Moffatt said.