Telstra launches first unlimited mobile plan for business
Filed under: business, corporate, gadgets and gizmos, mobile phone, mobile plans
Telstra Business has today launched Telstra’s first unlimited 1 mobile plan as part of its Business Mobile PLUS offer and I thought it worth sharing details with you.
- The $180 per month plan includes all standard voice calls, video calls, MMS and SMS to any Australian mobile or fixed number plus unlimited MessageBank™ diversion and retrieval.
- The plan is available for a 12 or 24 month minimum term. 2
- Customers with their own handset will pay $150 per month on a 24 month plan. 3
- Customers with Smartphones also have the choice of a BlackBerry® or Microsoft® email solution or 2.5GB of data for web-based email and internet browsing.
Yasmin Dugan is the Executive Director leading the new plan in Telstra Business and says the new plan gives small businesses cost predictability and greater choice to get the most value from their mobile phones.
“This is the first time Telstra has offered an unlimited mobile plan to our business customers,” Yasmin said. “In addition, customers who switch to Telstra from another provider and take up the unlimited plan for 24 months will receive a bonus credit of $540.”
According to Yasmin, “For busy small business people, mobiles phones are often a lifeline that keeps them connected and their business running. This unlimited plan is ideal for those who make long calls or are heavy users of SMS or MessageBank.
This is the latest offer in the Business Mobile PLUS range that was launched in November last year.
Yasmin said Business Mobile Plus was developed in response to business customers’ requests for simpler, more flexible plans as well as reduced call rates when they combine all their services on one account.
Other key features of Mobile PLUS include free calls in Australia between services on the same account, one rate for both video and voice calls, per second charging, and the ability for users on the same account to share any unused included credit across their services.
Now here’s the fine print from the lawyers:
1 Our FairPlay policy (excluding the provisions pertaining to excessive use) applies
2 Min cost for 12 months is $2,160 plus usage
3 Min cost is $3,600 plus usage
I am sorry Telstra but as a SME, I cannot afford $180 a month.
I have alot of friends who own small businesses, and have churned to other providers because of our costs. I think this is a revoluntary idea, and one that I have not heard of from any other telco. I think this will be a real winner, with our business customers, and rev up revenue.
Hi, – Does this plan available month by month basis? If I want to use my current mobile phone instrument. Cheers Ted
Don’t know what Telstra is thinking. Yes, superior product (nextG), but the pricing it not at all affordable. Competitors of Telstra has have very attractive competitive pricing (a concept Telstra refuses to understand) that makes it easier to justify the drop in level of service. Not that Telstra actually provides any customer service.
Does seem a tad overpriced. I would have thought something like $129 or $139 would have been more palatable. I realise it offers a lot of value (especially considering it has Blackberry/Microsoft email solutions included, or 2.5GB of data…) but it’s still pretty up there in terms of what people would want to commit to paying month in, month out, when the other networks have $99ish unlimited plans. Next G is good, but with the other networks catching up on coverage and speed, it’s not worth the 50% price premium for people who live in metro areas.
That’s alright John. then go to Optus, pay $30 less and suffer for the next 2 years. Or alternatively, take the time and see what other options available there from Telstra. The unlimited plan is not the only option available, as you can imagine….
Telstra never seem to hit the mark. Everything is either overpriced or crippled by quotas and restrictions. The day they actually match or better their competition using their network is the day that hell freezes over.
John,
I always blast Telstra as being a serial overcharger, but this plan is certainly interesting and no doubt welcome to heavy business users whose bills are far in excess of $180 per month.
I’m definitely not a Telstra apologist, you can check my articles online at http://www.itwire.com where I most recently hammered Telstra over an awful and shockingly bad customer service experience friends had been tortured by, but did you notice the $540 credit and the fact that if you have a smartphone already, it’s $150 per month?
If you sign up for 24 months you get that $540 credit, which divided by 24 months is $22.50 per month – if you calculate it this way, of course.
Subtract $22.50 per month from $150 per month (assuming you already have a phone) and then it’s $127.50 per month. If you want one of Telstra’s phones then with the credit over 24 months then its $180 per month – minus your upfront credit of the equivalent of $22.50 per month which is the equivalent of $157.50 per month.
Plus there’s that 2.5GB of data which is given to all subscribers of this service at the headline $180 price point according to the MobilePLUS plans, and the lower $127.50 per month compares very favourably to Vodafone’s approx $115 per month plan for unlimited calling with 2GB of data (although you do get a free phone at that price point).
Now what does unlimited calling mean under Telstra’s Fairplay system? I just looked through a stack of Telstra PDFs, and “unlimited” means 2500 minutes a month, of 41.6 hours, or 1.3 hours per day of continuous talking for 30 days.
It also means 100 sms messages a day max and 50 mms messages a day max before “Fairplay” restrictions come into, well, play.
Is 2500 minutes a month enough? That’s for you to decide, and honestly, 2500 minutes in a month is not truly unlimited. Why Telcos can say “unlimited” when there actually are limits is beyond me. Excusing it with a “1″ or asterisk pointing to PDF files with the real limits buried on page 15 is hardly in the spirit of easy headline transparency, but hey if I can find out this info, then so can you.
However it does sound like the furthest Telstra has gone towards matching some of its competitors, while still retaining a better network than competitors.
How quickly Telstra’s network might degrade under any potential influx of business customers is yet to be seen – everyone knows what happened to Optus after they launched the iPhone, but at today’s Motorola Motoblur handset launch Optus said it had added 600 base stations and had quadrupled capacity on its network.
If Telstra’s network starting sagging under the weight of an influx of business customers their ads on TV about ‘more signal in more places’ or whatever it is wouldn’t apply.
Anyway – it’s all food for thought, and depending on the plan you sign up for, the length of that plan and whether you have an existing phone or not, the headline $180 per month is lower.
Interesting move, Telstra, and long overdue. I wonder what other competitive moves you’ll make this year in light of David Thodey’s promise to make Telstra more competitive?
Also, according to the Telstra terms and conditions PDFs I read, 1800 calls aren’t included, nor are 1234 calls, or 12455 calls, or 1900 calls.
13 calls and presuably 1300 calls are included because I didn’t see any mention of those being restricted.
The lack of 1800 calls is disappointing for sure, but if 13 calls and 1300 calls are included that’s a lot better than not including them, which Optus was doing with its “unlimited” plan. From memory, Vodafone includes 13, 1300 and 1800 calls in its unlimited package.
Again… interesting. I wonder how Optus, Voda and 3 will react?
Hi Alex, after reading your comment re. the “FairPlay Policy” I checked in with the lawyers and confirmed the Excessive Use part of the FairPlay Policy DOES NOT apply to the $180 Mobiles Plus plans. I’ve updated the legal bits and bobs at the end of the story to reflect this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention – and apols for the initial confusion.
http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2010/03/30/telstra-launches-first-unlimited-mobile-plan-for-business/comment-page-1/#comment-3768
Hi Tejinder,
The plan is available on a 12 or 24 month contract term initially and then customers can remain on the plan on a month to month basis. The 24 month contract has the benefit of a $0 upfront handset or a $30 per month member credit, bringing the monthly fee to $150.
Brendan [TEX Customer Engagement Manager]
Alex, your calculations make it look like the new plan is okay for value.
BUT you actually get better value out of Telstra’s Member Plan Ultimate which is available to all users.
For $150 / month you get a “free” iPhone (or just about any other phone they carry) And you get $1500 of “value” for voice and messaging.
At 18 cents / 30 seconds, that works out to 4,166 minutes of calls, or 6000 text messages per month. Or a combination of them of course.
Yes, I’m omitting the ridiculous “flagfall” costs, but even so I reckon this consumer product, still available until May 10, beats the pants off the new $180 / month plan with fair play limits of 2500 minutes a month and 3100 texts.
The new plan gets two thumbs down from me.
Dear Alex Z.R.
Telstra is the one reacting.. OPtus have had Yes Timeless plans for some time. Both for Business and Public at $129 pm
Unlimited with 2-3gig data..
Telstra should be more Pro-Active instead of Re-Active..
OPtus have had this type of plan out for near 2 years..
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/341409/telstra_takes_optus_unlimited_mobile_plan/
telstra should improve there network speed.nextg is getting slower everyday..teltra cant even fix melbourne cbd tower which has been working at partial loss since 26th january making wireless network speed even slower come on telstra lift your game i know 11people that have left wireless network since christmas because of outages and slow speeds
Fantastic Telstra, I had been tempted to switch because of your clearly superior reception and especially your data speeds (none can compare I think) – now you have made it easy – whats a few extra dollars compared to your competitors unlimited plans when you consider actually being able to talk unpreturbed and not wait forever for data. Compared to the money I can make with my phonecalls it is small beer.
PS. Paul Higgins – no excessive use provisions apply to the $180 plan so for decent business usage it is much better than $150 plan
Well I think that Telstra are by far the superior carrier in Australia, I left Optus 3 years ago and I can also tell you about previous experiences with Voda and 3, my Telstra rep is the best there is and considering I travel a lot the Telstra Next G network outstrips its competitors by far, its all about comparing Apples with Apples, not Bananas against Apples.
we hear about all these great changes to business plans, but what about the rest of us, you know the ones without ABN’s. Can’t you come up with something compelling for us too? don’t just throw us into the siebel jail and throw away the key…
what about a $29 cap? all the low spending $20 to $40 are leaving because the other carriers already have this. market share includes all customers irrelevant of spend level.
I have to commend Telstra for at least trying to compete with the other mobile networks, but @ $180 (without “discounts”) I still think that not including 1800 numbers means this isn’t really an unlimited plan.
Jay, if consumers feel they are left out, then why not apply for an ABN number??? it doesnt cost them a thing… problem solved ay
atleast some of it
Would be good if you can actually get a phone signal in parts of the central highlands even 3g doesnt work and if i walk 300 yards down the road i lose my signal to, great having to work in the outback and no phone service even with a car kit fitted oh i forgot i am not in a city so does not matter
I’m sold! No more ‘you’ve gone over your cap’ $500 bills or hanging up every 10 mins for the inter-account free calls.
At this stage I would only consider Telstra, as the other telco’s don’t seem to have very good reception in our little part of SE Vic. Our friends either have to go outside or upstairs to make calls, but with Telstra we can walk around the place without any trouble.
It’s nice to feel that at least we’re getting a good deal for our loyalty.
Paul Higgins, you said that the Ultimate $150 plan was better value, the problem with that plan of course is that it has only $150Mb of included data. Selling a consumer a smartphone with a $150 plan which has low data allowances and a high rate for excess usage is not batter value.
Or you can just go with Vodafone, and get an unlimited everything plan for $129 a month, any phone you like included. Face it, Telstra, you are still HUGELY overpriced! Ridiculous! And you think this is cheap??? Common, pull the other one..
The absolute second that Vodafone or other networks get Next G (as I work in regional areas not covered by them), I will wave Telstra goodbye FOREVER and ever…
I work in a Telstra call centre, and for those on unlimited plans or those on untimed to landline plans, who make frequent calls to suppliers or offices with 13, 1300, and 1800 numbers, I recommend that they request the “landing number” for the particular inbound service they are calling. The owner of the number benefits by not having to pay for their calls, and the caller benefits by having the call now included within their plan. Not too hard really.
I read about this on Monday in the Papers, and changed over my Ultimate plan to this Unlimited Plan,
i found my bills were already 363+ so this will be interesting, nice too see i didnt have to drop my Blackberry BIS plan as thats an attachment so for 200 a month
im supposedly getting unlimited calls and texts,
so will see how it all goes……….so far from what i heard from the person on the phone, nothings hidden and looks like a good deal………
Just to clarify, are BIS or the 2.5gb of data included in this new unlimited plan or are they still an add-on?
There are no call limits with this plan, and it includes all calls. I have looked thru the intranet and retail live, and cannot seem to find anywhere where it mentions charging for 1800 numbers, or the call costs (which Telstra would have to quote on its pricing documentation.)
As for the likes of Optus/Vodafone, doesnt their fair use policy limit it to 3000 minutes a month??
Just brought an Optus $100.00 per plan, $1200 odd worth of local calls, unlimited SMS’s & an iPhone.
Teltra you offer NOTHING, you fobbed me off & would not even release old phone number…then again why should that worry me, I have unlimited SMS’s to tell everyone my number has changed.
The plan you offered was resticted & dated, in comparison with Optus & Vodafone.
I have a business plan with another six mobile phones & 5 incoming land lines…say good by Telstra…good by.
I Have Telstra Rep ( I Think ) his name is Travis and I know he exists as I spoke to him once. I have a meeting with Optus Wednesday to discuss their unlimited plan , and as I was not aware of the Telstra plans would have gone in uninformed. Why do they pesist in locking people in to hideous plans and then rewarding new accounts ?? I have asked about hand sets for ages and no go
If Optus can help me and offer support when you ring them I am gone,no matter what the break costs are!!! Travis are you listening ??
Finally you have come out with a plan to help business
I have been had my mobile with Telstra for 21 years and as I’m out of contract, I want to take the $180 unlimited plan. i’m peeved when I read they are offering $540 credit to anyone switching from another provider … What about the loyal customers? Is there a credit bonus for us? If so, how do we get that credit?
Hi,
What a load of BS.
First. NOT their first unlimited plan. Technically it may be but SMB’s are interest in voice and text primarily. I have been on a Plan for the past 18 months that is $65/month for untimed loacal and telstra mobiles. I then pay $10 for unlimited SMS and another $10 for 100Mb internet (been fine for the odd email checking).
Between me and my wife we have an average bill of $220 – $240 a month combined. And not have to worry too much about it being an astronomical bill.
Now thou, we would be paying $360 /month for the same piece of mind. 50% more than what we are paying now.
For everyones information take a look at optus. I am looking into a plan that is $119/month for Unlimited everything (like telstras) and includes MRO and 3Gb Data. I get 2 of them and get the same piece of mind I have now for the same price.
I just pitty the poor soles that have no choice but telstra.
I have just signed up for the $180.00 deal with the HTC desire as part of the deal….As I extensively use WEBEX to run meetings I am keen to understand if 1800 numbers are exempt from the deal…. Maybe Peter Taylor (Telstra) from the above list may like to comment
Sidney, unfortunately 1800 numbers are not included in the “unlimited” inclusions.
Thanks Rod…just wanted to confirm. This means that I will be replacing all my 1800 numbers with the equivalent STD land line number….guess the cost will fall back on Telstra
I find it interesting that comments are made about Telstra’s superior network from people who say they have been with competitors 2 years ago. I switched from Telstra to Optus 2 years ago because of their Timeless Plan. As a business owner my work and that of my employees takes us all over Victoria and the coverage I have on all main and some minor highways “was” adequate to make both business AND personal calls. The coverage now would be on par with Telstra – You need to do better that $180 per month per service to get my 15 services back
There is nothing in this for small business as we found the old small business plan that we are on was far better in the way of the 65$ Untimed to all telstra mobiles and land lines with no call connection cost and the nokia 98 was by far better than what they are offering now. We are nearly out of contract so we will have a good look about at other companies as small business at a 180.00 a month plan is to much as we all do not own coles or big w come on telstra help small business we are the backbone of this great country.
I Hate Telstra! Main reason being that everytime I have had an issue I get fobbed off to an indian call centre of which after explaining my issue I get transfered 20 times and have to re explain everything and then hung up on accidentally on purpose.. I have been with Vodafone for 5 years now and on the unlimited $115 for just under 12 months with 3 iPhone mobile services and have never gone over the cap. We use the phones extensively as I am in real estate and do not use my office or home phone for outgoing calls. With the 3GS iPhones we constantly have issues with them dropping calls and also taking an excessive long time to come back online after they go out of range in car parks etc, but i dont mind calling back as there is no benefit to Voda dropping the calls e.g flagfalll costs etc so it must be a genuine network congestion problem. I am considering the $180 plan purely for the convenience factor as I know Telstra in Brisbane anyway has far superior coverage as my son has a Telstra Blackberry and his phone is in service all the time with the odd drop out compared to my multiple daily drop outs. I was a dealer in the Telco industry 10 years ago and there is no doubt then and now Telstra has a superior coverage, it’s just the attitude and arogance of their helpfull staff that is the issue, and of course their prices.
Regardless it might just be worth looking at this plan as coverage is a key issue and it seems Telstra is at least trying to compete.
Hi All,
Maybe Rod Bruem can clarify for me, are 13/1300 numbers included the plan? As someone else stated 1800 numbers may not be and you confirmed this, this person also stated that 13/1300 numbers may be included as there were no mention of them in any T&C’s? If this is the case, we will be implementing these right across our business!
PC.
TPG had the unlimited deal for $60 a month at one stage.. and theyre resellers.. makes it look a little expensive …
Hi everyone. I was just wondering something.
Currently with 3 on a Business Shared Cap I pay a certain amount of money per month which covers 6 SIM Cards (6 numbers) which means just one bill for everyone.
Does the same apply here, (ie. $180 for all numbers) or is it $180 per number? Because I know that on the website it says one bill for all staff members.
Thanks
Just signed up for the “Unlimited” business plan and reading the “fine print” I found:
“9.12 We consider that using more than 2500 minutes each month on any mobile service is excessive use of our FairPlay offers.”
2,500 minutes equals 1 hour and 23 minutes on average per day!
What happens if my daily average use end up being 2 hours?
Please elaborate/explain in more details the following points:
9.17 If we reasonably believe that you are in breach of this FairPlay Policy, we can:
(a) cancel or limit your right to use a FairPlay offer without telling you before we do so; and
(b) suspend or cancel your mobile services which have been used in connection with the FairPlay offers by telling you in writing 30 days before we do so.
9.18 If we believe on reasonable grounds that you are in breach of this FairPlay Policy, you must pay us the standard applicable retail rate (without any FairPlay offer applied) calculated from the date of the breach. You must do so for all of the mobile services which have been used in connection with the FairPlay offers.
9.19 If you have already paid us for such mobile services, you must pay us the difference between the standard applicable retail rate (without any FairPlay offer applied) and the amount you have paid to us.
Please note that 9.12 is referring to “excessive use” but the next sections are not using this term but talk about “if you are in breach of this FairPlay Policy”
Thanks in advance!
Ok where to start untimed unlimited and NEW MMM ok why i have i been on a business plan costing $65.00 a month untimed free calls to other telstra numbers and free sms to Telstra mobiles how is this new its not, just my plan was just not advertised i have been on this plan for one and a half years now and got a phone included in the $65.00 so how is this new i got told by a telstra employee thay was trying to get everyone of this plan is that to hide that is was never there while bringing in a new one at DOUBLE the price just curious how this is being labelled a new plan and some think its great i cant afford that price no where near it this is why when this plan i am on came out it was ideal for me a sole trader i would love to upgrade my phone but not onto this plan on the one i am on now
Hi Jens,
Have a read of telstra’s comment from Peter Taylor (Telstra)
31 Mar 2010 at 9:56 am
It should answer most [if not all] of your concerns
I am a current Telstra customer so I do not get the $540.00 credit, I guess I will just have to go to Optus for a while so I can be lured back at some time in the future.
John, if you are serious, give me a call on 03 83609762. I can give you great advice on how to approach Optus
yes, false marketing statement
unlimited – no boundary to call, sms, download per month. For that price, I will consider it!
I ahve ben offered unlimited talk and text for Vodaphone for $79 per month including handset.. $180 doesnt compare
my biggest complaint about telstra is that they offer absolutely no service, wont return calls or talk to you and then as soon as your contract is up for renewal they treat you like a king, after signing up you get the same old treatment again
i run a medium sized plumbng business and my account is normally about $1800.00 a month so it not really small chips for them
i had a rep from telstra take me out for a coffee to talk about my bussiness needs and i’m not joking when i say that he called me back to follow up 16 months later – of course my contract was due for renewal at the time