From next month standard line rental will rise by $2 per line, per month to $21.90. Customers on premium (business) plans will see a price hike of AU$3 per line, per month.
-We actually lose money on line rentals," a Telstra spokesperson told ZDNet Australia, although she could not provide supporting figures of how much the national carrier was out of pocket.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Telstra's line rental price hike is in line with the Federal Government's price control regime, announced in April this year.
-Telstra will be saying to everyone that it brings line rentals closer to cost, and we'd agree with that," ACCC general manager of telecommunications, Michael Cosgrave, told ZDNet Australia.
The ACCC estimates that the true cost of line rental per line, per month is AU$27.
Telstra last increased line rental charges by AU$2.40 for customers on a residential plan and by AU$2 for business customers, on September 1, 2001.
Customers who use some of the carriers premium services will also be slogged by price increases, including a rise from 5 cents to 30 cents for call connection, and the retrieval charge for most mobile MessageBank services will increase by 3cents to 14cents.
The ACCC's Cosgrave said a lot of prices that have been hitched up aren't regulated prices. -They're not prices we have any control over," he said
The Telstra spokersperson said today that these price rises are offset by other call rate reductions, particularly in fixed to mobile calls.
Charges for residential and business STD and fixed to Telstra mobile will reduce from 25cents a minute to 20cents a minute. The STD rural rate will also be reduced to align with the intercapital rate -- from 25cents a minute to 23cents a minute at peak times, and 16cents a minute to 15cents a minute off peak for the standard residential plan.
STD capped call rates will also be reduced, by almost 50cents per call for most residential and business call plans.
-Telstra will take specific action to continue protecting its one million-plus customers who receive a pensioner concession. The impact of the changes on low income earners, the elderly and job seekers will be minimised by a revised, better targeted AU$150 million concession package, developed with assistance from welfare agencies," Telstra Retail, director communication and strategy, Michael Herskope, said in a statement.
Herskope said that line rentals would not rise again this financial year.
What else is new. When will it stop, every time I read ZdNet news, I see something about a price hike for telstra services or fees.
Our phone line has been in the ground here for around 10 years, nothing has been done to it for this time, yet I am required to pay extra every year for this wire which just sits there..
get a real life telstra, stop charging for **** that should not be charged for. I think the GOV. already get a fair wack of do$h for your services, or does howard need more dental plans.....
We need an independant communictions company in Australia, one that does not rely on telstra for anything.