How to get a better deal at Telstra and avoid expensive plans

Sick of paying through the roof for mobile plans at Telstra? Chief executive Vicki Brady says you can get a better deal. Here are the options.

Telstra says customers are no longer locked into contracts, allowing them to change plans without incurring hefty fees. Picture: Brendan Radke

Telstra customers fed up with forking out up to 24 per cent more for mobile plans than rival Vodafone can get a better deal, the boss of Australia’s biggest telco says.

Vicki Brady, who succeeded Andy Penn as Telstra chief executive in late 2022, has made cost cutting a theme during her time at the helm, one analyst said.

However, consumers have been paying more and more for services, with Ms Brady not only abandoning the telco’s longstanding strategy to peg prices to inflation last year but going above it.

Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady says she is “very conscious” of cost-of-living pressures. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Plan prices going up

Prices vaulted up to 11 per cent for some mobile plans. Ms Brady said on Thursday that the hikes were necessary to fund an $800m network upgrade as rivals TPG and Optus seek to poach more customers following their $1.6bn tie-up to share mobile towers.

Telstra also lifted its half-year dividend by more than 5.5 per cent and said it would complete a $750m share buyback this year.

Telstra’s base SIM-only mobile plan now costs $65 a month for 50GB of data – 24 per cent higher than Vodafone’s, which offers the same amount of data.

Asked how Telstra would help ease the cost-of-living crisis among its customers, Ms Brady said they could seek a better deal.

Budget options

“In terms of customers and feeling the pressure of cost of living, we are very, very conscious of that,” she said.

“It is very much at the forefront of our mind. The first thing I’d call out is our plans. We took away contracts several years ago so our customers can adjust to suit their needs and change plans without any cost or fees, so that’s been an important shift.

“The second thing I’d say is we have a range of products under the Telstra brand – things like our Belong business plays an important role.”

Belong is Telstra’s budget offshoot, which has SIM-only plans starting at $30 a month for 25GB of data. But this is still more expensive than TPG’s budget brand Felix Mobile, which is offering customers the same deal for $12.50 a month for three months. Typically it costs $25 a month.

Telstra also acquired Boost Mobile in a deal worth more than $100m to sell more budget prepaid plans, which are priced from $21.25 a month for 22GB of data. The deal reaped a payday of at least $30m for Boost shareholder and former prime minister Paul Keating.

But on Friday, the Federal Court found that Telstra made false or misleading representations about Belong’s upload speeds to almost 9000 residential broadband customers.

Telstra failed to notify customers that it halved their upload speed to 20Mbps without cutting the price of the service. This was despite NBN Co charging Telstra $7 a month less per plan.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking penalties and consumer redress. It comes after Telstra was fined $15m in 2021 for making false or misleading representations about its 50Mbps and 100Mbps NBN plans.

A Telstra spokeswoman said the telco was “disappointed by this outcome but we respect the court’s findings”.

“Our goal is to always do right by our customers... and will review the decision in full before deciding on further action,” she said.

Telstra is investing $800m upgrading its mobile network in the next four years.

Virtual networks

If customers aren’t happy with Belong or Boost deals, Ms Brady highlighted Telstra’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business, which allows other retailers like Everyday Mobile by Woolworths to use its network.

Woolworths plans start at $25 a month for 22GB of data. But the problem with MVNOs is that many don’t support e-SIM cards for smart watches.

Smart watch problem

This forces customers to buy more expensive plans with Telstra, Optus or Vodafone’s flagship brands so they can use an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy watch.

But Ms Brady said that could change soon.

“In terms of e-SIMS for MVNOs and smart watches, it’s a really great question. It’s definitely in the product roadmap. I’m just not sure of the timing. I’d expect we will see that.”

Customer support

If all else fails, Ms Brady said Telstra was “very focused” on supporting customers who are in “vulnerable circumstances”.

“We work very hard to help support them. That includes keeping a million customers connected who are in those vulnerable circumstances through a range of things, from plans that are available for those that are on pension cards and various other support.

“We also, though, need to get the balance right, because one thing we know for sure is being connected is critical for our customers, and they keep demanding better and better connectivity. In the last five years, we’ve had data on our mobile network more than triple, and rightly so.

“Customers expect a high level of service, a high level of network experience, and that’s why … we’ve also announced an additional $800m over the next four years going into our mobile network to ensure our 5G is the most advanced, the most resilient and the most reliable 5G network here in the country.”

Originally published as How to get a better deal at Telstra and avoid expensive plans