Telstra just announced another mobile plan price hike, so here are eight great alternatives

Woman holding phone with brown cardigan and blurred greenery in background — (Image credit: Marcus Aurelius / Pexels)

Not content with being the most expensive telco in Australia, Telstra announced today that will once again be raising prices on most of its postpaid and prepaid mobile plans by around AU$2 to AU$4. Postpaid prices will go up from August 27, while the updated prepaid pricing will take effect from October 22.

Telstra says it has moved away from its CPI-linked annual pricing review, stating that the change has "simplified our pricing approach to be more consistent across our products and services, and also reflected there are a range of factors that go into any pricing decision."

The announcement arrives roughly one year after Telstra's last price hikes came into effect, which saw price increases on both SIM-only and mobile broadband plans.

The telecommunications giant also noted that "It takes a lot of work and cost to run a mobile network as large as ours, and even more to support the increased usage we have seen on our network."

You can find Telstra's updated mobile plan pricing in the tables below.

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Telstra mobile postpaid plan changes
Plan	Old pricing	New pricing	Data	Download speed
Starter	AU$50	AU$50	5GB (was 2GB)	Uncapped (was 250Mbps)
Basic	AU$62	AU$65	50GB	Uncapped (was 250Mbps)
Essential	AU$72	AU$75	180GB	Uncapped
Premium	AU$95	AU$99	300GB	Uncapped
Bundle	AU$50	AU$52	25GB	Uncapped

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Telstra mobile prepaid plan changes
Old plans	New plans	Data	Expiry	Download speed
AU$12	AU$13	3GB	7 days	150Mbps
AU$34	AU$39	15GB	28 days	150Mbps
AU$45	AU$49	25GB	28 days	150Mbps
AU$55	AU$59	35GB	28 days	250Mbps
AU$65	AU$69	70GB	28 days	Uncapped
AU$160	AU$180	70GB	6 months	150Mbps
AU$320	AU$350	165GB	12 months	150Mbps

Best Telstra network alternatives

If you can't abide by Telstra's price increases but still want access to Australia's largest network, you may want to consider a mobile virtual network operator (or MVNO) which resells licensed access to Telstra's network. Here are our three top Telstra network alternatives when it comes to value for money.

Numobile ($30 SIM plan) | 32GB data | No lock-in contract | AU$30p/m

A relatively new MVNO on the scene, the fittingly-named Numobile gets 3G/4G data from the Telstra network and is offering some pretty good no lock-in plans. Our pick is the $30 SIM plan, which gets you 32GB of data per month and allowing you to bank up to 500GB of unused data. You also get unlimited standard talk and text within Australia, along with an additional 15 countries.

Total minimum cost is AU$30 (1-month) | Total cost for first year: AU$360

Of course, if you don't mind leaving the Telstra network, there are a number of other affordable options available from telcos operating on the Optus and Vodafone networks. Here are some of our top picks.

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Stephen Lambrechts is the Managing Editor of Tom's Guide AU and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming for the last 15 years. Before Tom's Guide, he spent several years as a Senior Journalist at TechRadar, had a brief stint as Editor in Chief at Official Xbox Magazine Australia, and has written for such publications as APC, TechLife Australia, T3, FilmInk, AskMen, Daily Telegraph and IGN. He's an expert when it comes to smartphones, TVs, gaming and streaming. In his spare time, he enjoys watching obscure horror movies on physical media, keeping an eye on the latest retro sneaker releases and listening to vinyl. Occasionally, he also indulges in other non-hipster stuff, like hiking.