Telstra's own BigPond Twitter support channel has come in for a fair degree of criticism from Twitter users for only offering a "contact us" canned response to queries. An alternate way of tracking the telco on Twitter is via the WeLoveTelstra channel, a bot which picks up any tweets which mention Telstra. Unsurprisingly, that gives it a somewhat negative slant -- people are far more likely to point out service faults than praise Sol's crew to the skies -- but it's an interesting perspective on Telstra's performance and activities.

Telstra's BigPond Internet division has added a support channel on Twitter, allowing you to raise problems through the popular social network. Though most of the responses to date seem to effectively devolve to "a BigPond consultant will email U back", it's another weapon to keep in the support arsenal.

Another reason to take up wireless broadband: Telstra is now offering its Next G wireless broadband service as a prepaid option, joining Optus in the prepaid crowd. Purchase a wireless broadband kit (including a USB modem) for $149 and then top up with a range of credit options, from $20 for (effectively) 150MB through to $100 for 6GB. The biggest restriction is the expiry period, which is 30 days. While you can stop the credit expiring by purchasing more credit, you can't buy a large initial bundle and then top up with small amounts effectively, since the rate per megabyte is much higher on the cheaper plans. Nonetheless, if you're an occasional regional traveller, this could well be your best travelling broadband option. Thanks Beau!

Back in July, Telstra announced that it was increasing the amount of data included in its 3G data bundles (used for Internet access on your mobile phone). At the time, Telstra promised that the plan changes would be rolled over to existing customers, who would "automatically have the additional data allowance added to their plans over the coming months". However, recently I've encountered several people complaining that their plans still haven't been updated. I asked Telstra what the official timeframe for making the switch was, and got this response:

The changes to the mobile phone data packs have been implemented. If the changes are not on the current bill (as we bill for the month prior) they should be reflected on the next bill.

Just weeks after changing the way it charges for Next G data access on mobile phones, Telstra has updated its pricing for wireless broadband services for PCs. The somewhat confusing set of previous plans (which included variants based on access speed, download limits and time spent online) have been replaced with four options: 400MB a month for $39.95, 1GB a month for $59.95, 3GB a month for $89.95, and 10GB a month for $129.95. Excess data is charged at $0.25 a megabyte. While the prices (which take effect from August 24) are an improvement, they're still rather more expensive than any other rival plans -- the 1GB offering is more than twice the cost of some similar offerings. But as ever, with wireless broadband, service availability is vital, so if Next G's the only game in your town, this should provide a little relief to the hip pocket nerve. (And we still wish there was a way to get Next G working on Linux machines, particularly the Eee PC.)

Telstra's BigPond Music arm has started selling music in unprotected MP3 format, making it a much more appealing rival to the iTunes store than when it was a Windows Media-only shop (which blocked any iPod users for starters). All four major labels have signed up for the store, and tracks are available encoded at 256Kbps or (in some cases) 320Kbps. Telstra is currently still selling WMA formats as well, but we'll be surprised if this lasts too long. Pricing starts at $1.69 for individual tracks (BigPond ISP subscribers get a discount of 12% on individual tracks or 9% on albums, and don't have downloads counted against their quota). (Thanks Shane G!) [BigPond Music]

As expected, Virgin Mobile has officially launched its iPhone plans in Australia -- and they look like a relative bargain. With 3 also launching iPhone data plans (even though it can't sell the phones), Optus updating its plans soon after launch and Telstra dropping its data charges yesterday, the plan landscape is now looking rather different than it did on iPhone launch day just three weeks ago. Click the jump for our analysis of where the best deals are now (assuming you can find someone with a phone in stock).

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Telstra's Next G wireless broadband coverage has always been more extensive than any of its 3G competitors, but that's come at a price: a ridiculously high price, as it happens. Now Telstra has dropped the pricing on its Next G data packs, making them moderately better value.
The $10 mobile data pack now includes 150MB of data (up from 20MB), and the $29 mobile data pack includes 300MB (up from 80MB). Excess data now costs 50 cents per MB on the $10 plan, or 25 cents per MB on the $29 plan (it was previously $1 on both plans). Those plans apply to all Next G phones, including the iPhone if you happen to have ignored the warnings and signed up with Telstra for the phone.
That still makes Next G much more expensive than its rivals. For instance, $39 a month with Vodafone gets you 6GB on a USB modem, while 3 this week launched a plan offering 6GB for $39. So shop around, think carefully before you commit, and share your thoughts on this price change in the comments.

Coffee chain Starbucks' well-publicised woes, which include plans to shut down almost three quarters of its Australian stores, are also going to impact the Australian Wi-Fi scene. Liam Tung at ZDNet ran the numbers and worked out that Canberra won't have any Starbucks' Wi-Fi hotspots left, while the fate of stores in other states is uncertain. The Wi-Fi at Starbucks is provided by Telstra (and hence comes at a cost), but wireless access has always been a selling point of the Starbucks coffee/office experience. (Rival Gloria Jeans, a much bigger presence in the Australian market, partners with Optus for Wi-Fi.)
While the disappearance of those stores won't massively undermine the Telstra Wi-Fi footprint - McDonald's and Telstra's CBD systems in Sydney and Melbourne are much more important it's potentially a major nuisance if you've come to rely on the option being around when you need to get some quick access on the road. It's also bad news for anyone who bought an iPhone from Telstra and planned to make extensive use of the free Wi-Fi option to help offset Telstra's painfully expensive plans.
Aussie Wi-Fi lost with Starbucks' stores [ZDNet Australia]

As last telco off the rank to release its full iPhone pricing, you'd think Telstra might have had a few surprises up its sleeve. Unfortunately, it's no surprise that its deals turn out to be the worst value of the lot, reflecting its commitment to charging a premium for access to its Next G network. Click after the jump for our analysis of the available Telstra options.

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