Telstra is killing off its postpaid mobile plans, moving all postpaid customers to upfront payments over the coming months.
The new system will see customers automatically billed via direct debit every month, with no option to receive a bill and manually pay it later. According to the telco, the move is about giving customers more “choice, flexibility, and control”.
“Your new Telstra Upfront Mobile Plan gives you greater price certainty with national calls and data usage included in your monthly charge.
“Also included in your plan is 30 minutes of international calls each month, as well as unlimited SMS from Australia to standard international numbers. You will know exactly how much your plan will cost each month with no nasty surprises,” said Telstra.
There will be no lock-in contracts under the new plans, so customers who don’t want to switch to upfront payments will be free to leave; however, anyone still paying off a device will need to pay the rest in a lump sum when they do.
Upfront customers will lose access to some features including Telstra Air, while international roaming will be temporarily gone; the telco says it will return at some point in 2021. Customers will, however, now be able to share data between up to ten plans on the same account.
SIM-only plan availability will switch to exclusively upfront from next Tuesday, February 16, while customers buying new phones from Telstra will be able to choose traditional postpaid plans up until March 30. Prepaid SIMs will still be available.
