Making ends meet on a pension that doesn’t seem to ever keep up with the rising prices of everything can be tough, to say the least. But one of the essential items in life that seems to just get more and more affordable is the mobile phone – the handsets themselves as well as the cost of calls and mobile data.
As Australia’s largest phone and Internet provider, Telstra is a leading choice. Your home phone’s probably already connected with them. Hence, it’s nice and simple to add a mobile plan or broadband package in the mix without spending too much extra money.
What does Telstra Mobile offer for Seniors and Pensioners?
Intense competition combined with more affordable technology has led to some incredible deals on mobile services in recent years, but often you’ll find the cheaper deals to be offered by smaller, third-party providers who are re-selling access to one of the big three networks – access that’s not always what it seems, as there are hidden limits on which parts of the network you can connect to.
That’s one of the reasons a huge number of Senior mobile package users head to Telstra. As owners of the biggest mobile network in Australia, they are in a unique position to get coverage into the most remote areas and the most difficult of buildings, in many cases the only network that can be relied on while driving around the country.
That unmatched coverage is backed up by the latest technology, too – making calls clearer and mobile data speeds much faster. That technology is only available to Telstra customers on their network – while a few other mobile providers sell plans using the Telstra network, they don’t have access to all the advances that Telstra’s own customers do.
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What are the new Telstra Upfront Mobile Plans?
Telstra’s postpaid plans are now upfront. Instead of receiving bills every month, you’ll be billed each month automatically so that it removes the need for email or paper bills. The new setup also brings in new features while rendering old ones unavailable.
For the new perks, there’s data sharing again between up to 10 eligible services, 30 minutes of international calls to select countries, and unlimited SMS to all overseas destinations. As for the features going away, Telstra Air and calls and texts to premium numbers are no longer available. For data-only plans, you’ll get the same inclusions as the SIM-only mobile plans with the addition of an International Roaming Day Pass.
What are the Best Telstra Mobile Plans for Pensioners and Seniors?
Currently, Telstra offers Seniors several benefits for holders of eligible pension cards – whether you are on an age pension, a disability pension, the recipient of a carer payment and a range of other government benefit programs. Exactly what is offered depends on the service and plan you’re signed up for. For now, these discounts only apply to a home phone connection. However, Telstra’s SIM-only plans have been revamped so they’re cheaper and more valuable.
If, like many, you’ve already got a mobile phone that you’re perfectly happy with, you’ll just be looking for a Telstra SIM to plug into your phone and get you talking. For instance, the Telstra SIM-only mobile plans have seen huge increases in data allowances in recent times and no lock-in contracts, with their top-end plan now boasting an incredible 180GB per month of included data. The cheapest plan, meanwhile, offers 40GB data. All these with no excess data charges.
It’s not as small as it used to be, is it? From 2GB to 40GB, Telstra has definitely taken the big step in terms of data allowance. With that in mind, if you’re looking for one of the best Telstra mobile plans for seniors it’s hard to go past Telstra’s $55 SIM-only package, which gives you that 40GB of data along with unlimited calls and texts within Australia.
If you’re wanting to spend several hours on the phone having a proper chat with loved ones abroad via video calls, the next plan should be a perfect fit. At $65/month, you get 80GB of mobile data to service your mobile internet needs. That’s just an extra $10 per month from the smallest plan.
What does Telstra offer for Prepaid Mobile Plans?
Here’s where the real value comes into play. Telstra’s prepaid mobile deals have been incredibly attractive for a while now, and that hasn’t changed one bit. That $55 plan we recommended above is excellent and comes with the reliability of regular, billed phone service. But if you don’t mind the idea of “recharging” your phone credit whenever you need to, then Telstra’s “Pre-Paid Mobile” plans are the way to go.
FeaturedAt the entry level, a $30 recharge gives you 28 days of access with 10GB + 17GB bonus and unlimited calls and texts within Australia – as well as 300 and 60 international minutes to selected destinations, plus 100 texts to any country.
And on prepaid, any unused data at the end of that 28 days is added to what Telstra calls the “Data Bank” – a pool of extra data that you can draw on any time your allowance runs out. You can store up to 200GB in the Data Bank – great for times when you’re away on holiday and want to catch up with some TV or the nightly news, for example.
Prepaid also gives you the flexibility of changing your data and call allowances with every recharge. For example, you could decide to go for the $40 option with its generous 20GB + 17GB. There’s also the cheapest $10 prepaid option but it expires after 7 days. But if the need for something that temporary comes, it’s a good choice with unlimited national calls and texts plus 2GB of data.
Don’t Make Phone Calls?
Telstra is one of the only providers to offer long-expiry prepaid plans, with several options available. These are perfect if you don’t make mobile calls much, if at all – you’ve got a home phone for that – but want an active service so that people can call you. Called Pre-Paid Mobile Casual, these plans offer six months for $30 or a full year for $70 and $100.
Calls used to be billed at 30c per minute and texts at 30c each to standard Australian numbers– but data is 7c per MB, which can chew through your recharge amount fast. But now there’s capped data, as well as calls and texts included. The $70 plan with 12-month expiry is already loaded with 700MB, 200 call minutes and 200 texts within Australia, and a total of 40 call minutes to international destinations, plus 15 texts to any countries. For that reason, we’d recommend you avoid smartphones for these plans or turn off their data access.
Does Telstra offer Data-Only Mobile Plans?
If you’ve got an iPad, an Android tablet or a laptop computer that you want to get connected to Telstra’s fast data network, you can do that affordably as well – the days of mobile broadband plans costing a small fortune are thankfully far behind us!
You’ve got four options with Telstra’s data plans, also with no lock-in contracts. The month-to-month data-only plans are easily the way to go here, with some flexible options letting you get that iPad connected incredibly cheaply if you’re only planning on using it online occasionally (just make sure it’s a model that can accept a SIM card first!)
The entry-level $15/month plan gives you 5GB of data a month which, if you’re a light user, is ideal and very affordable. For a more beefy data allowance, increase the monthly cost to $25 and you get 30GB, more than enough for almost any use on a portable device. There’s also higher-limit plans but they’re getting into “home broadband replacement” territory and are priced to match.
Telstra offers Add-ons to Mobile Plans
Telstra has long offered generous extras to its mobile customers, and that hasn’t changed. There’s data-free Apple Music subscription and access to the AFLW and Netball apps to stream every game of the season live. You can also match replays and access live scores via the AFL and NRL Official Apps. These extras are only available to postpaid, prepaid with active recharge, and yes, data plans get these same bonuses as well!
Telstra has recently also enabled its customers to sign up to Netflix, BINGE and Kayo Sports and pay for these under their Telstra account. Right now, Kayo from Telstra is also offered at $15/month for the Basic plan and only $25/month for Premium, saving users $10/month for 12 months.
Is Telstra Mobile Right for You?
With the mobile phone such an essential part of our lives these days, you want the most reliable, hassle-free service available. And it’s Telstra’s network that’s unbeatable for coverage and quality, with incredibly fast data speeds so you’re never waiting around for web pages or email to load.
At just around $10 per week – not much more than the line rental on the home phone – you get access to the best mobile network in Australia. All in all, if you’re either a Senior or Pensioner the Telstra Mobile discounts are most definitely worth looking into!
