Trujillo dismisses 3G price war

Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo today said price cuts by competitors on third-generation mobile services were irrelevant to his company.

"There is no company in Australia that has the coverage, quality, capability and services that's even close, so I don't compare our pricing to others' pricing," Trujillo told reporters this morning as he outlined a new relationship with the Australian Rail Track Corporation.

"So to me, that's not a relevant issue," Trujillo added.

Telstra mobile rivals Hutchison and Vodafone both slashed the cost of their mobile broadband plans last week -- services competing directly with Telstra's Next G 3G mobile network.

For example, Hutchison launched three mobile broadband plans at AU$20, AU$30 and AU$40 per month, offering respective download limits of 500MB, 1GB and 2GB. It also launched a new flat-rate suite of services known as X-Series, which bundles mobile broadband with applications such as Skype, eBay and instant messaging.

Vodafone responded by launching a range of new plans offering greater mobile broadband value -- for example, offering a new 2GB per month plan at AU$79.95 on a one or two year contract, and cutting its 1GB plan from AU$99.95 down to AU$59.95 a month for customers on a contract.

Telstra's Next G network is substantially larger and faster than those belonging to its rivals, however, the telco also charges higher prices -- for example, AU$114.95 for a 1GB per month plan, or AU$184.95 for a 3GB per month plan.

Telstra does offer cheaper plans that are speed-limited to 256kbps -- for example AU$84.95 for a 1GB per month plan.

Trujillo also declined to comment on recent reports that Telstra had re-commenced discussions with the telecommunications industry and other groups on the construction of a nationwide fibre to the node network.