The price hike comes amid a cost-of-living crisis and follows a 20 per cent price jump for the telco’s prepaid customers.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan believes “the mood is shifting” on nuclear energy as a senate hearing gets underway over a push for it to be legalised. “We clearly have a need for reliable power that can stay on all the time,” Mr Canavan told Sky News Australia. “We have the world’s largest uranium reserves. “All my bill does is say remove that ban, let people bring these ideas forward, and we can properly consider them and framework them.”
The telco updated its website on Monday morning with the pricing increases, which follow a jump from $1 to $2.50 for the amount it charges customers who pay over the counter at Australia Post, in Telstra’s own stores or by cheque.
The price rises are yet to take effect, but customers are being notified of the changes when browsing information about Telstra’s mobile plans. The company’s cheapest mobile plan – 40GB for $58 per month – will rise to $62 per month under the changes, amid an ongoing cost of living crisis.
“Price may increase by CPI annually in July,” reads a message on Telstra’s website.
UBS analysts Lucy Huang and Sheeri Bao had forecast a price increase of 5 per cent, and they said it’s unclear how many customers would leave Telstra or trade down to a lower-price plan as a result of the move.
Telstra’s move to lift prices has sparked speculation whether Optus and TPG will follow suit.
Telstra boss Vicki Brady at Telstra HQ in Sydney. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“We will always communicate with customers first if we make changes to pricing,” a TPG spokesman said.
An Optus spokesman said the company had no announcements to make with regards to pricing changes.
“I understand the current economic climate creates challenges for our customers,” Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady told The Australian in February.
“The changes we have made in recent years to remove lock-in contracts and move to a multibrand strategy mean we can continue to provide customers with flexibility and options to ensure they can choose plans they can afford.”
This article contains features which are only available in the web versionTake me there
Telstra introduced annual postpaid pricing reviews last June, announcing it would tie prices to the consumer price index.
In April, Telstra announced it would hike prepaid mobile prices by 20 per cent by early July, lifting its base $10 weekly recharge option to $12 from July 4.
Telstra was contacted for further comment.
The company last week suffered a mobile outage affecting hundreds of thousands of customers.
Telstra’s shares were up 0.6 per cent to $4.35, giving it a market value of $49.91bn, around lunchtime on Monday.