Telstra mobile customers set for a second price hike in 12 months is it enough to finally convince you to switch?

Date:
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:09:49 +0000

Description:
Australia's largest telco is raising prices across postpaid and prepaid plans by as much as AU$45.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter In news that is both ridiculous yet unsurprising, Australias telecommunications sweetheart, Telstra, has announced it will be raising prices across its postpaid and prepaid plans from May 5, 2026.

Most postpaid plans will go up by AU$4 per month, while prepaid plans can expect a AU$5 monthly increase. This is the second price hike in less than 12 months, with the previous one coming in July 2025 when most plans increased
by around AU$5 a month. Telstras NBN plans were also affected by the previous price increases but, as it currently stands, theyre unaffected this time round. Article continues below You may like Openreach is planning major price hikes to force business users off old copper networks Sky TV is raising its prices ahead of HBO Max's UK debut Rackspace email hosting price hike will be 'devastating', customers say The changes to postpaid plans are as follows: Swipe to scroll horizontally

Plan Name

Data Inclusion

Current Price

New Pricing

Basic

50GB

AU$70

AU$74

Essential

180GB

AU$80

AU$84

Premium

300GB

AU$99

AU$99

Mobile Bundle

25GB

AU$57

AU$61 As youll see, the Premium plan is unaffected by the price increase, but elsewhere there are hikes of up to AU$4 per month.

In the case of prepaid plans, the increases vary depending on plan length. Telstras six-month and 12-month plans, for example, are going up by AU$20 and AU$45 respectively. However, as a small gesture of goodwill, Telstra is increasing the amount of data included with these plans. The full range of prepaid plans with new pricing is as follows: Swipe to scroll horizontally

Plan Name

Current Data

Current Price

New Data

New Price

7 Days

3GB

AU$13

4GB

AU$15

28 Days

15GB

AU$39

20GB

AU$44

28 Days

25GB

AU$49

35GB

AU$54

28 Days

35GB

AU$59

45GB

AU$64

28 Days

70GB

AU$69

80GB

AU$74

6 Months

70GB

AU$180

80GB

AU$200

12 Months

165GB

AU$350

180GB

AU$395 As tends to be the case with any price increase across any service, Telstra says theyre necessary to help ongoing investment in our mobile
network infrastructure, enabling innovation and the rollout of new features that expand connectivity options for customers. The telco touts its rollout
of satellite-to-mobile messaging which could prove invaluable to customers beyond the range of Telstras mobile network as being a prime example of said innovation. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up
for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Time to change? If youre a Telstra customer and feel these price increases are a bit of a slap in the face, then the good news is that you can still gain access
to much of the telcos expansive network coverage while paying an awful lot less.

Whether you prefer a postpaid or a prepaid plan, there are several options available from smaller telcos, called MVNOs, who use what is known as the Wholesale Network. You can view our guide to the best mobile plans on the Telstra network for more information.

This is technically different to the full, main network that direct Telstra customers enjoy. The main differences tend to be a cap on the download speed you can achieve usually between 100Mbps and 250Mbps and they offer slightly less in the way of network coverage. However, its likely only people in extremely remote parts of Australia that would be affected by this change.

For everyone else, theres plenty of value to be found and money to be saved
by switching to a different provider, and Ive picked out my three favourites below. Alternatively, if you want to consider switching networks, be sure to check out my guide to the best SIM-only plans . Exetel Plus One | 130GB | Telstra Wholesale Network | AU$40/recharge

For just AU$40 per month, you can get a huge 130GB of data with this Exetel prepaid plan. Download speeds are capped at 150Mbps, but you also get the benefit of up to 1,000GB databanking and unlimited international calls to 15 countries.

Total minimum cost: AU$40 | Total yearly cost: AU$480 View Deal Tangerine | 30GB | Telstra Wholesale Network | AU$15 p/m (first 4 months, then AU$30 p/m)

If you dont need a huge amount of data, then this postpaid plan from
Tangerine is a great option. Youll pay just AU$15p/m for the first 4 months, in return for 30GB of data on the Telstra 5G Wholesale Network.

Total minimum cost: AU$15 | Total cost for first year: AU$300 | Ongoing yearly cost: AU$360 View Deal Boost Mobile | 380GB | Full Telstra Network | AU$330 (first recharge, then AU$365 ongoing)

Boost Mobile has the unique benefit of having full access to the main Telstra network. Ive selected this long-expiry plan as a good example of the value to be gained by switching to the Telstra-owned provider. Youll get 380GB on your first recharge, and this drops to 365GB upon your second recharge. The price also changes, from AU$330 the first recharge to AU$365 when the time comes to recharge for year two. View Deal



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/network-providers/telstra-mobile-customers-se t-for-a-second-price-hike-in-12-months-is-it-enough-to-finally-convince-you-to -switch


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