Telstra says goodbye to lock-in plans, debuts build-your-own mobile plans

Telstra has launched a new range of radically simplified post-paid mobile plans, offering consumer and small business customers greater flexibility with no lock-in, customisable plans.

Telstra is now the first major telco in Australia to offer the flexibility of no lock-in plans across all of its in-market mobile and fixed consumer and small business plans.

The company has also reduced its in-market plans from 1800 to just 20, an important milestone marking one year since its T22 strategy was announced.

As of today all of Telstra’s new consumer and small business mobile plans offer its customers:

No lock in plans
Freedom to change plan once a month
No excess data charges in Australia
24 and 36 month device payment options
The ability to personalise their plan through add-ons

Telstra’s new $60/month mobile plan includes 60GB of data to use in Australia and unlimited calls, SMS and MMS in Australia to standard Australian landlines and mobiles. Customers can then build personalised services by adding their choice of the latest devices, entertainment, sport and accessories and pay these off on monthly terms. If a customer takes up a device on a repayment option, they just need to pay out their device if they leave early.

In its drive to improve customer experience Telstra has also removed domestic excess data charges on new plans and removed some other additional charges, including the $2.20 paper bill fee. Building on its ‘customer first’ approach, Telstra launched Telstra Plus in March, rewarding customers for their loyalty with discounts on some of the world’s best technology.

CEO Andy Penn said, “Customers expect to be able to personalise their experiences and only pay for what they want or need. They also want to be able to change their mind month-to-month as their individual needs change. I am extremely proud that Telstra now offers customers that flexibility, so they can tailor their plan to suit their lives.

“This might mean upgrading your mobile plan around school holidays, adding a sport package for footy finals season, adding international data for that overseas holiday or, for our business customers, scaling their plan with the peaks and flows of their business,” Mr Penn said.

“The launch of our new plans coincides with the roll out of the first 5G devices on our network and the ongoing rollout of Telstra’s 5G network. There has never been a more exciting time for Australians to consider the role technology has to play in making the most of how we work, live and play. We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to embrace this new era with more freedom and flexibility across our plans.

“Last year when we announced our T22 strategy, we set out to eliminate customer pain points and increase the simplicity, transparency and satisfaction customers experience with our products. As part of this, we promised to simplify our plans from 1,800 to 20 and remove domestic excess data charges; and we have achieved that. We have also given our customers the choice to add entertainment, accessories and devices to their plans with no upfront charges and introduced our Telstra Plus loyalty program to reward our customers.

“This is just the beginning of what Telstra has planned for product and experience improvements for our customers over the next 12 months. We have big ambitions under our digitisation program and as we migrate to the new technology, customers can expect simplified billing, digital service and real-time delivery and appointment updates.”