Telstra's new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c plans are significantly more expensive than last year's iPhone 5 plans.
The telco officially announced its pricing plans for the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last Friday, exactly a week ahead of their official launch on Friday, 20 September.
The pricing represents a significant increase on last year's iPhone 5 plans, and follows a trend in the Australian telco market where providers continue to raise prices but decrease data allowances.
Telstra offers both the iPhone 5s and 5c on four plans, starting from a "small" $60 per month plan, ranging up to an "extra large" unlimited plan for $130 a month.
However, Telstra customers will have to pay a monthly handset repayment on almost every plan, depending on the model of handset they choose.
The cheapest iPhone 5s 16GB model will cost $18 per month on Telstra's $60 plan, a total cost of $78 per month, while the cheapest iPhone 5c will cost $11 per month on the same plan, a total cost of $71 per month.
Curiously, this $71 per month iPhone 5c offering is even $4 more expensive than last year's cheapest iPhone 5 plan, which was available for $67 per month.
Telstra's $60 plan includes $600 worth of calls and MMS messages, unlimited SMS messages, but only 1GB of data per month.
The 1GB data allowance is the same as it was on last year's cheapest iPhone 5 plans. However, Telstra offered a bonus 1GB of data per month for the first 12 months on its $80, $100 and $130 plans for the iPhone 5 last year, an offer it is not repeating for the iPhone 5s or 5c this year.
Telstra's $80, $100 and $130 plans include 1.5GB, 2GB and 3GB of data per month, respectively.
For comparison purposes, we've compiled a table of Telstra's cheapest plan for each iPhone 5s and 5c model, and compared prices directly with last year's iPhone 5 plans.
Firstly, the Telstra's cheapest plans available for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c:
| Model | Monthly plan cost | Monthly handset cost | Total monthly cost | Voice inclusion | Data inclusion | Total plan cost (24 months) |
| iPhone 5s 16GB | $60 | $18 | $78 | $600 | 1GB | $1872 |
| iPhone 5s 32GB | $60 | $22 | $82 | $600 | 1GB | $1968 |
| iPhone 5s 64GB | $60 | $30 | $90 | $600 | 1GB | $2160 |
| iPhone 5c 16GB | $60 | $11 | $71 | $600 | 1GB | $1704 |
| iPhone 5c 32GB | $60 | $18 | $78 | $600 | 1GB | $1872 |
Here's Telstra's cheapest plans that were available for the iPhone 5 at its launch last year:
| Model | Monthly plan cost | Monthly handset cost | Total monthly cost | Voice inclusion | Data inclusion | Total plan cost (24 months) |
| iPhone 5 16GB | $60 | $7 | $67 | $600 | 1GB | $1608 |
| iPhone 5 32GB | $60 | $11 | $71 | $600 | 1GB | $1704 |
| iPhone 5 64GB | $60 | $17 | $77 | $600 | 1GB | $1848 |
Related content
• Telstra, Vodafone unveil iPhone 5s and 5c pricing
• Australian iPhone buying guide: iPhone 5s or 5c?
• Apple iPhone 5s preview
• Apple iPhone 5c preview
• Apple's new iPhones will support dual-mode 4G in Australia
• Apple prices iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s for Australia
• Apple iPhone 5 review
