Telstra backtracks on excess data roaming price hike

Telstra has backed down on a decision to triple excess data charges for its international roaming travel pass following a customer backlash.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn today said the telco would no longer raise the three cents per megabyte it charges for excess data usage on international roaming to ten cents per megabyte.

He said while he "understood" why the product team had made the decision, it "didn't sit well" with him or customers and it was his responsibility to act on behalf of those aggrieved.

Telstra would therefore scrap the excess usage price hike, he said.

"Good leadership means recognising when it is right to change decisions because it is the right thing for our customers," Penn said in a post

"Telstra has worked hard at removing the pain point of international roaming charges with the introduction of travel passes that make using a mobile overseas more affordable and predictable."

Other changes to the travel passes, announced on Monday, would remain, he said.

Telstra's international travel pass roaming packages allows customers to access mobile connectivity overseas in three, seven, 14 and 30-day durations.

The packages include one-off set-up charges, which have been increased as a result of Telstra rejigging the zones in which it offers the service.

The changes mean Telstra travel pass customers in Indonesia and Thailand will now face double the one-off charges of $15, $35, $70 and $150 of zone one after the countries were shifted into zone two.