New Telstra plans offer yearly phone upgrades
Alongside a new pricing structure, Telstra will offer customers who sign up to 24-month plans the option of receiving a new phone upgrade every year.
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Alongside a new pricing structure, Telstra will offer customers who sign up to 24-month plans the option of receiving a new phone upgrade every year.
By opting into the new feature and paying an additional AU$10 per month, users will have the option to upgrade their existing handset after 12 months. Certain caveats apply, with the new phone option only available for those signed up to a 24-month plan. Your existing handset also needs to be returned in working order to be eligible for the upgrade.
Alongside the new phone feature, Telstra has also launched a range of new personal mobile plans that will come into effect on 4 March.
While the data allowances do not offer much extra compared to previous plans, Telstra has reduced the excess data charges down to 3c (from 10c) per MB over included monthly spend. An AU$500 cap has also been introduced for data use in Australia.
There are two types of plans available from March: a handset plan and the BYO mobile accelerate plan. Here is the breakdown of charges for each:
24-month contract Handset plan
| Monthly plan charge | $55 | $70 | $95 | $130 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included domestic calls, text and MMS | $550 | $700 | $950 | Unlimited |
| Included domestic data allowance | 500MB | 1.5GB | 2.5GB | 3GB |
| MMS picture messages | 50c | 50c | 50c | Unlimited |
| MMS video messages | 75c | 75c | 75c | Unlimited |
| Text messages to domestic numbers | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
BYO Mobile Accelerate Plans
| Monthly plan charge | $45 | $55 | $70 | $95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Included domestic calls, text and MMS | $550 | $700 | $950 | Unlimited |
| Included domestic data allowance | 500MB | 1.5GB | 2.5GB | 3GB |
| MMS picture messages | 50c | 50c | 50c | Unlimited |
| MMS video messages | 75c | 75c | 75c | Unlimited |
| Text messages to domestic numbers | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Telstra has also removed the charge for sharing data across multiple devices, however, you will need to pay for additional SIM cards. Compared to the telco's current plans, the new deals work out to be slightly cheaper as an overall package, but the cheapest tiers (for both BYO and handset) lose out on data allowance, which drops from 1GB on the current plans to 500MB on the new ones listed above.
Find the full details, terms and conditions of the new plans at Telstra's plan page.