Telstra panned as iPhone battlefield hots up

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/i...0626-cz54.html

Telstra panned as iPhone battlefield hots up

Asher Moses
June 26, 2009 - 12:50PM
Telstra has limped onto the iPhone 3GS battlefield, with analysts panning
the telco giant for offering expensive, mediocre plans with paltry download
quotas.

In what has been interpreted as a sign of arrogance, the carrier waited
until this morning - the day of the iPhone 3GS launch - to announce its
pricing details. It did not even inform customers it was opening some TLife
stores at midnight.

This seems to have backfired, with the George Street TLife store virtually
empty this morning as the Apple faithful chose to buy their kit from the
official Apple Store across the road.

But Australia's highly competitive telco market means Telstra isn't the only
option. Analysts praised Vodafone and Optus for their high value plans, but
some suggested waiting until 3 reveals its pricing in July.

Telstra has historically been able to charge more for its plans because it
offers the fastest speeds and the broadest coverage, but IDC telco analyst
Mark Novosel said this would change soon as both Optus and 3 are upgrading
their networks to 7.2Mbps, the maximum downlink speed the iPhone 3G S
supports.

"The pricing displayed by Telstra would indicate that selling iPhones is
again not a high priority for the carrier, instead they appear to be
focusing more on other smartphones which offer a higher margin, along with
the ability for Telstra to customise the device and include shortcuts to its
own services, such as Foxtel mobile, Whereis Navigator and others which
provide an ongoing source of revenue," Mr Novosel said.

"It appears Telstra are ranging the iPhone 3GS as a niche device to satisfy
their customers who really want the device and prevent them churning to
other networks, as well as those who rely on its coverage but still want
Apple's latest device."

Before the first iPhone model launched last year, Telstra's then
second-in-command, Greg Winn, told Apple to "stick to your knitting" as it
was a computer manufacturer, not a mobile manufacturer.

Even on Telstra's $150 iPhone Plan Ultimate, consumers get just 150MB of
included web data, which Novosel said would not even come close to allowing
users to get the most out of the device.

Conversely, on Optus' $99 Timeless plan customers get 1.5GB data, while the
Optus $129 plan comes with 3GB of data in addition to unlimited standard
calls and SMS.

Vodafone's $114 Unlimited plan also provides unlimited calls, SMS and MMS
with 2GB of data.

"This year, Vodafone is certainly offering better value in its iPhone plans
than last year; however, on face value, Optus still has the edge at many
price points," Mr Novosel said.

For those who do not want to be tied to a plan, Apple is selling the 16GB
and 32GB versions of the iPhone 3GS unlocked through its official stores for
$879 and $1040 respectively.

Jason Hill of the mobile phone plan comparison site WhistleOut said
Australians were spoilt for choice when choosing an iPhone 3GS carrier, with
five local carriers offering the device compared to just one, AT&T, in the
US.

"Being first into the market on Monday, Optus put their prices out to the
public, and their competitors noticed," said Hill.

"Vodafone added the new 16GB iPhone free at the $69 cap level. Optus quickly
moved to knock $10 a month off their $79 cap to turn it into a $69 product
to compete, and it now packs a bigger punch than Vodafone with far more
included calls and the same 1GB of data per month."

But the $69 Vodafone plan also includes unlimited free Vodafone-to-Vodafone
calls during the evening and on weekends.