‘Very disappointed’: Telstra customers’ fury as phone bill prices increase
Telstra users are up in arms over “ridiculous” increases to their phone bill, as the telco prepares for the long-awaited closure of one of its services.
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Telstra users are being hit “ridiculous” increases to their phone bill, all as the telco prepares for the long-awaited closure of one of its service offerings - forcing customers to switch onto pricier plans.
Both Telstra, the nation’s largest mobile network, and its main competitor, Optus, will switch off their 3G services this coming Monday, October 28. The move, first announced in 2019 and delayed twice to give customers more time to make the necessary changes to their devices, is set to leave tens of thousands of Aussies in the lurch as their phones are effectively rendered useless.
For Telstra, the shutdown also coincides with a second round of increases to its payment plans. Users of the telco’s services were first told these were coming down the pipeline in July.
Customers with monthly postpaid plans with the telecommunications group were hit with the price rises on August 27.
As of this Tuesday, those with prepaid plans have also been stung.
While the timing may seem convenient, a Telstra spokesperson told news.com.au, both events have been months – and in the case of the 3G switch-off (announced in 2019), years – in the making.
“They’ve been raising prices regularly for a long time but that rise is the most ridiculous I’ve seen,” one social media user wrote, under a screenshot of an email sent to one customer, alerting them that their mobile broadband package would increase in cost from $90 to $110 per month in December.
“Forget the fact that data should actually be getting cheaper, not more expensive.”
“That’s the part that annoys me most,” another person said.
“Prices should be getting down, or at least the cap should go up. They’re keeping the data cap the same but just jacking up the price.”
A customer with the same broadband package commented these were “my thoughts exactly when I saw the email come through”, adding that they were forking out money for a service they couldn’t even use.
“I pay for 5G and over the two years I’ve had the plan, 5G hasn’t even rolled out to my area.”
Tesltra defended its price increases, saying it “strives to strike the right balance between our ability to invest in our network, to provide the best possible mobile products and services that we can, our business needs, and the value and affordability of our plans.”
“We made changes to some of our mobile pricing this year to help us to keep investing in mobile coverage, performance and local support, as well as ongoing investments to improve the security of our services,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“Changing our prices is always a difficult decision, especially in the current climate which is why we offer a range of support options for customers who might be doing it tough.”
Carol Bennett is the CEO of Australia’s peak body for consumer representation in telecommunications, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
Ms Bennett agreed that “it isn’t clear to us” if there’s any relation between the end of the 3G and Telstra’s price changes.
Regardless, she told news.com.au that ACCAN is “very disappointed that plan prices are increasing at a time when so many Australians are doing it tough and, this is complicated by the 3G shutdown”.
Ms Bennett referred to research conducted earlier this year by virtual network provider Amaysim, which found that 28 per cent of consumers had struggled to pay a mobile bill in the past 12 months, with younger consumers faring worse than others.
Similarly, the Federal Government’s Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in May released its Financial hardship in the telco sector report. It found almost 2.4 million Australians had experienced difficulty paying for, or had concerns with, their telco bills in the past 12 months.
Compared with other service providers – like water or electricity – telcos were seen as less flexible, less well-equipped, and with fewer assistance options. Customers, meanwhile, lacked awareness of the support options available to them.
This situation will be further compounded, Ms Bennett said, for those customers who don’t have a device with 4G or 5G capabilities.
Based on recent estimates, there are still some 740,000 devices across Australia which need to be switched over before the deadline – due to a combination of those devices being older or foreign-made – and roughly 59,000 devices that will need to be updated in the next three days.
There are handsets in Australia that rely solely on the 3G network for voice calling, with these handsets not being able to make calls when the switchover to 4G occurs (to see if your device is impacted, text the number ‘3’ to 3498).
“Australians facing the cost-of-living pinch may struggle to pay for a phone upgrade,” Ms Bennett said.
“The burden that the 3G shutdown may cause will be very high for some.”
The Telstra spokesperson said that “closing the 3G network paves the way for us to support increasing data demands and to repurpose spectrum to further grow 4G and 5G connectivity”.
“It will also help ensure that Australians, and in particular, regional customers, have access to a network they can rely upon and trust,” they added.
“We have completed thousands of 4G site upgrades and optimised our entire 4G network to deliver coverage equivalent to 3G.”
Ms Bennett said it was imperative Telstra makes good on its promise of “equivalent coverage”.
“While areas which currently have no mobile service won’t receive coverage via 4G, customers should see no loss of coverage,” she said.
“If they do, we want to hear about it.”
An Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) spokesperson told news.com.au that the mobile network operators’ decision to shutdown the 3G network is a “commercial decision” that it has “no regulatory role” in.
“Both Telstra and Optus have publicly committed to equivalent 4G coverage prior to their 3G shutdown,” the spokesperson said.
“The ACCC understands that the mobile network operators are providing advice to consumers who need to upgrade on which devices are available at different price points, and also have financial assistance programs in place that may assist some customers.”
The Federal Government is also working with Telstra, Optus and other industry participants through an industry working group formed at the request of Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland “to address the issues around the planned 3G shutdowns.”
Telstra and Optus have both said that the millions of impacted customers in their bases have been sent messages that give directions on how to get support throughout the process.
Ms Bennett urged people to take advantage of the assistance both Telstra and Optus are providing to those experiencing financial hardship. Both telcos are offering those in need free basic handsets, and Optus has extended an offer of $400 off any handset on an eligible plan to existing postpaid customers.
The value of Telstra’s ‘Top-Up’ prepaid recharge also increased this week from $160 to $180, including unlimited local calls and SMS for six months, as well as 70GB of data, the company’s spokesperson said.
“It’s available to customers in vulnerable circumstances, including those facing homelessness, or domestic violence or those in need of financial assistance,” they said.
“This year Telstra has 30,000 top-ups on offer, worth a total of $5.4 million. We encourage those in need to take advantage of this assistance.”
Originally published as ‘Very disappointed’: Telstra customers’ fury as phone bill prices increase
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