Telstra ditches lock-in contracts for build your own plans

Leading Australian telco, Telstra has ditched lock-in contracts in favour of a new build your own mobile plan service model that will allow customers greater flexibility when it comes to consuming data.

The move announced today see the telco giant cut its existing 1800 contract offerings down to just 20 services. Telstra is the first major telco in Australia to offer no lock-in contracts across the entire range of its services. The new plans will come with the freedom to change mobile plans once a month and offer no excess data charges in Australia. Instead, customers data speeds will be shaped to 1.5mbps if they reach their monthly quota.

From today all Telstra’s new customers will be able to choose a plan that suits their needs with the option to personalise their mobile service with a range of add-ons.

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,” Penn said.

The new plans have been launched to coincide with the roll out of the telco’s 5Gready network devices.

“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,” said Penn.

Penn said the new plans are the first of a range of customer experience improvements set to roll out in the coming year.

“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.”

Under the new plans, customers can choose to bring their own device or add a mobile, tablet or broadband device on a 24-36 month payment plan. If a customer has purchased a device on a play they need only pay out the cost of their device if they wish to cancel the service.