Are Telstra still going to charge for 5G?

At this stage, one of the biggest differentiators between Telstra’s 5G network and the emerging 5G offerings from rivals Optus and Vodafone is that the former are going to sell 5G as an add-on to their core mobile plans.

Update - In June 2020, Telstra refreshed their post-paid mobile plans and announced that all but the cheapest of these will include 5G connectivity as standard. For more on this click here.

How much is Telstra charging for 5G?

As announced in June 2019, Telstra plans to start charging customers an extra AU$15/month on top of their regular plan for continued access to the high-speed mobile network.  

When will they start charging?

Telstra says they’ll begin charging for 5G access as of July 1 2020.

How much are Optus and Vodafone charging for 5G?

At this stage, neither Optus or Vodafone are charging extra for access to their 5G networks. Admittedly though, the physical footprints of either pale in comparison to where Telstra are at - mostly due to the head-start that the latter has had in the space. 

Has coronavirus changed anything?

While the outbreak of coronavirus has radically changed the nature of everyday life for many Australians, Telstra looks to be staying the course.

PC World understands that the telco still plans to charge for 5G as a premium add-on from the 1st of July. 

In Mid-March, Telstra also announced that they’d be forwarding $500 million of capex from the second half of FY21 into calendar year 2020. According to Telstra, this “be deployed to increase capacity in our network, including further accelerating the roll out of 5G and injecting much needed investment into the economy at this time.”

Credit: Telstra