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Telstra to Start Throttling Mobile Broadband Speeds
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Australia's Telstra has announced that later this year it will start throttling the mobile broadband speed if a user exceeds their monthly tariff, but will also no longer charge them for the extra bandwidth used.
Telstra Chief Financial Officer John Stanhope, who will announce the plan in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, said Australians were embracing data-hungry smartphones in record numbers and Telstra recognised it could better protect its customers from surprise bills.
"Our customers deserve to be able to enjoy the full capabilities of their Telstra post-paid mobiles without fear of a large, unexpected bill. By slowing data speeds once a customer has exceeded their data allowance, and not charging for the extra data, customers stay connected without fear of a hit to the hip pocket," Mr Stanhope said.
Customers who have used their data allowance will be able to top-up directly from their handsets to resume full-speed data services. Telstra's existing data alerts system - which provides data usage alerts via SMS at 80 and 100 percent of the allowance - will also be upgraded so SMS alert messages are sent to customers in near real-time.
Mr Stanhope also announced Telstra would improve information available to customers using mobile data services while overseas.
"Increasingly our customers are taking their smartphones with them on overseas trips as a convenient way to access travel information, email and maps. To help them stay on top of their data usage, Telstra is introducing regular SMS alerts that provide advice on the volume and costs associated with data they are consuming."
Mr Stanhope said this new service was part of a wider program to improve customer satisfaction.
Tags: [telstra] [mobile broadband] [bill shock] [Australia]
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