Telstra ups fixed prices, axes 30-second mobile rate

Telstra has announced pricing changes to some of its fixed-line and mobile plans.

The telco is bumping up access fees for half of its HomeLine plans, although fixed-line phone services in bundled packages are yet to be affected.

Cost per local call will increase by 2 cents for Telstra's HomeLine Complete, Homeline Plus and Homeline Advanced plans.

Calls to 13, 1300 and 1345 numbers will jump from 30 cents to 35 cents for all fixed-line phone customers.

Not-for-profit and charity customers will not escape the price hike, as business fixed-line plans for those organisations will also see an access fee increase.

Access fees to Telstra's HomeLine Budget and Pension Discount scheme will not be affected.

"We know there's never a good time to make changes to prices, but, like all companies, we need to periodically review our prices to ensure they reflect the cost of running our business," Telstra executive director for customer service, Peter Jamieson, said in a blog post.

He noted that the pricing for some plans has not been altered for over nine years.

As for mobile plans, calls will now be charged in one-minute blocks, as opposed to 30-second blocks, for all mobile plans. Until now, although some plans were charged per minute, others were still being billed in 30-second intervals. Member, Phone and Casual mobile plans will be affected by the change. Flagfall will still be charged per call.

Some fixed-line and mobile service rewards offers will also be withdrawn.

Changes will come into effect on 1 October.