Pre-pay offer for wireless broadband made by Telstra
An announcement made by Telstra looks to be hitting out at Optus by offering users pre-paid Next G wireless broadband access. The only problem is that its competitors are offering the service for less.
Telstra is hoping that by offering this service to frequent travelers, personal users, and young people it will make the most of the pre-paid popularity with the younger generation and on the range its Next G service provides. It does, however, mean that after Optus released its own pre-paid wireless broadband service earlier in the year Telstra will be competing directly with Optus for customers.
The pre-paid wireless broadband pack will be available to users for $149 and comes with a Telstra Next G SIM card, a USB modem and $10 credit to start with. The installation software for the USB modem comes pre-loaded and is compatible with Apple Mac, Windows 2000, XP and Vista. Access to the wireless broadband will, according to Telstra, vary depending on location but range anywhere from 550Kbps to 1.5Mbps with optimum short burst speeds of up to 3Mbps.
The cost to purchase the re-charges for the pre-pay service will vary from $20 up to $100 which allows users 6GB effective data download allowance each month. When this is compared to the pre-pay offer by Optus, users can get 6GB data download per month for $70 which means for $100 they can get 3GB more data downloads with Optus.
The Telstra Executive Director for Consumer Marketing, Glenice Maclellan advised that that wireless broadband connected users faster in more places than any other 3G network in Australia.
She went on to say: “Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband simply plugs into your laptop giving you access to the Next G network without having to connect any cables so you can surf the web at uni, use it on the train and take it with you really simply if you move house. Telstra’s Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband has no contracts or minimum monthly commitments. It provides the ultimate flexibility, is simple to use and can be recharged at more than 5000 locations across Australia.”
