Telstra and Boost relent to cost increases with a $5 per month price rise

After Vodafone led the charge during March and increased plan costs by $5 per month, it seems that the other major players; Optus, Telstra and — through their network ties — Boost Mobile are all following suit in some form.

As Vodafone did, Boost is emailing clients early to get on the front foot with the email received by the customers stating:

From time to time the prices of our services are reviewed, and the decision has been made to increase the prices of our plans from 4 July 2023. We know any price rise is hard and it’s not a decision that has been taken lightly.

Then goes on to explain the cost increase that users will see from July, equating to $5 per month for many plans. For a $30 per month plan, that equates to a 16.6% increase (I might need to speak to my boss about a 16.6% pay increase) which, given the cost of living these days will likely prompt some to shop around. Obviously, for the higher-cost plans, that percentage decreases but will still impact family budgets.

Here’s the full breakdown of changes:

With plans increasing with multiple carriers; Telstra included, already increasing prices, it’s almost inevitable now that all carriers will do the same. In reference to postpaid plans, Telstra’s site notes:

Telstra will use the CPI rate released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the 12 months to the March quarter. Any increase will be rounded to the nearest dollar and will occur from our July billing cycle. We’ll let you know before any changes take effect.

It’s this tie to Telstra and their increase that has almost certainly forced the hand of Boost to increase consumer costs. We reached out to both companies for comment and, despite the late hour, receive an extremely prompt response from a Boost Spokesperson:

Boost Mobile remains deeply committed to delivering ongoing great value for Australians, and it continues to offer this with full coverage of the Telstra 3G, 4G and 5G mobile networks. This includes access for less than $20 per month when buying a $230 recharge with 12-month expiry.

For me, that passion and commitment to providing customers value are just a couple of the reasons I’ll be staying with Boost.

It’s an interesting space we’re in right now with the cost of living pressures pushing many families hard. There will almost certainly be cheaper plans available, but the question is: Will you get the coverage and inclusions you need?

Editors Note: Telstra provided the following response to our query regarding the price increases on pre-paid plans:

There is a range of factors we’ve taken into account when making this decision. Maintaining both the affordability of our services and our ability to continue investing is a tough balancing act, and one that we feel the weight of given how important connectivity is.

Increasing our prices means we can continue investing in the things that matter for our customers like our mobile network, products and services. Like most businesses in Australia, we are also responding to increasing costs.

If further comments are provided by other carriers, we’ll update this post again.