Telstra Mobile Wifi

Telstra Mobile WifiTelstra has recently launched their own portable wifi device and it is aptly named the Telstra mobile wifi. At this point in time, they’re only offering the product on a pre-paid plan but hopefully they will soon launch a post paid product as well. At over twice the price when compared alongside other portable wifi products on the Australian market, does the new Telstra mobile wifi measure up? Let’s take a look at it!

Telstra has opted to rebadge the ZTE MF30 as their router of choice which makes for a nice offering. While the original is black, the Telstra version is a thin, white plastic which contains very few buttons. Other than the LED display, it has an on/off switch making it very simple to use.

It also comes with a microSD card which you’ll find is standard amongst most mini wifi routers being offered by Australian ISP’s. They’re handy but not something you will probably ever take advantage of. Charging is done via mini USB but if you purchase a USB wall charger, you can recharge the battery from a wall socket if that is your preferred manner.

The purchase price of the Telstra mobile wifi is $149 and included with that you receive 5Gb of data which needs to be used within 90 days; unused quota does not roll over which is disappointing. Recharges get expensive quick and you’ll be looking to spend around $100 to top up the device once the quota has been used. If you decide you want to unlock the device and use it with another provider, there is a fee involved which only adds to the cost.

Unfortunately, there are very few stand out points and it fails to set their product apart from any of the numerous other pocket wifi devices on the market. This is compounded by the fact that Telstra are one of the last providers to launch such a device and have only made a pre-paid product available at this point in time. With no post paid product, consumers will be stuck with a product that is not great value for money and have the constant nuisance of having to recharge the account.

The Telstra mobile wifi device does have one advantage though. It utilises the Next G network which provides the best mobile coverage in Australia. This makes it perfect for people who are living in more regional areas of the country. But, if you live in Sydney, Melbourne or any of the other capital city, this is basically a non-issue as the coverage provided by other ISP’s is excellent in these areas.

For consumers for which regional coverage is an issue, you’ll want to check out the Telstra mobile wifi device.If not, better value for money can be had elsewhere from companies such as Vodafone who provide a modem at $0 upfront and $29 a month for 3Gb of data.

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Joe Hart December 17, 2010 at 9:47 pm

I was wondering if you could give me a price for one of these Wi-Fi modems please.
With this I am prepared to Pay:
-$11.20 per month for modem rental
-$30.00 per month for internet usage.

Thank-you for your time.

Joe Hart

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Bob Yorston December 31, 2010 at 5:02 pm

Hi – As at 31/12/10, Post-Paid seems to be available. For those in a difficult location, the device has an external antenna socket – if you need one for your mobile phone, you’ll need one for this!
Post-Paid Rates monthly (less $10 for each other Telstra service) are currently:-
1GB $39.95
3GB $49.95
7GB $59.95
12GB 89.95
So for me, with a Telstra Home Phone and a Telstra Mobile Phone, 3GB/month would cost me $29.95/month – not too bad, after all.
Cheers,
Bob.

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ak January 1, 2011 at 9:41 pm

Hi – would love to use the mobile wifi thing at home, to connect several computers to the internet (I live rural and apart from satellite mobile broadband is the only internet option). So I was very happy with Bob’s comment, but cannot find anything about this device on a plan. Please Bob, can you tell me where I can find more about this? Thx.

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SK March 3, 2011 at 1:26 pm

I have recently purchase this product, and I am not sure about the Sydney (North Richmond) coverage. The reception is pretty bad at my place. The only time I was able to get a better reception was when I drove to Seven Hill. Any tips please?

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admin March 3, 2011 at 1:42 pm

According to the coverage map @ http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/maps.cfm North Richmond “should” be fine but that doesn’t seem to be in your case.

As Bob suggested above, you might want to try an external antenna. I wish I could offer something more :\

Reply

Fawad April 6, 2011 at 10:21 am

If you see their website now, it’s been advertised for $99 with 5GB for 90 days.
Moreover, you can recharge it with lesser credit and the remaining balance does gets rolled over if you recharge before the expiry date.

http://www.telstra.com.au/shop/Consumer/NGTSOProductDetailsView?catalogId=10101&storeId=10001&productId=96702&langId=-1&categoryId=16126&parent_category_rn=16126&top_category=

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