One of the most common complaints about Telstra is that it costs a small fortune to use its roaming services if you go overseas. Does a revamp of its plans help solve the issue? Not really.
Telstra has added five new “roaming packs” to its original set. Here is what’s now on offer, in terms of what you pay up front and the included “value”. The newly-added plans are in bold:
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[left]
$29
$85
$160
$350
$550
$1050
$1800
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$150
$450
$900
$2250
$3750
$7500
$15000
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Telstra has also expanded its range of countries, with China, Greece, Spain, Italy, Fiji, Taiwan, Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary and the Slovak Republic joining the existing range. A total of 25 countries are now covered.
While paying $29 for $150 worth of roaming value might sound tempting, it doesn’t represent much data at all. Telstra still charges $15.36 per megabyte for international data, so for your $29 you are getting a little under 10MB. The top-priced $1800 plan gets you just under 1GB of data. And that’s the most generous estimate — since there’s also a 50 cent connection charge, you’ll get less data in virtually all circumstances.
The bottom line? International roaming is still really pricey, and since even the most expensive plans expire within 30 days, it’s way too much to pay for a personal holiday, and potentially tricky to get your boss to sign off on. Hunt down some free Wi-Fi or buy a local SIM instead.
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