Aussie telcos reveal iPad pricing bias

Australian telcos Telstra and Optus have revealed their new Apple iPad broadband data pricing, which offers five times more data than similar data plans on other mobile devices.

Telstra's prepaid pricing for iPad starts at AU$20 per month for 1GB of data and increases to AU$30 for 3GB, a much higher data allowance than that given to all other Telstra prepaid mobile customers who receive just 200MB when purchasing an AU$29 3G browsing pack. Optus will double the Telstra offer with 2GB for the same AU$20 fee, but also shaft current prepaid customers who only receive 200MB when purchasing an AU$10 Rev-Up prepaid data top-up.

This disparity in value increases all the way along the tiered pricing structure by both companies. For AU$59, a Telstra prepaid mobile customer not using an iPad will purchase just 750MB of data to be used in a 30-day period, while a Telstra iPad customer will receive 6GB of data with a similar 30-day expiry. It is also evident when comparing wireless broadband offerings from both carriers, with Optus offering only half as much data (1GB) for an AU$30 wireless broadband recharge to customers using an Optus wireless broadband modem and not the Apple iPad.

Data pricing from Australian carriers has favoured Apple customers since the release of the iPhone 3G in 2008 and currently all of the major Aussie telcos offer special iPhone-only plans. Optus BYO iPhone plans include between 100MB and 3GB of extra data when compared to BYO rates for customers who pay the same monthly access fee but choose to use a non-Apple-branded mobile phone.

For full details of BYO Apple iPad pricing read Telstra, Optus won't sell the iPad.