Telstra NextG USB modem not so good as a backup device

I thought a Telstra NextG wireless broadband (internet) USB modem would be perfect for those occasional trips out to the country.

Keep it in yer bag, recharge at the point of need.

So it sat around waiting to be needed.

I needed it just recently.

But it didn't work.

I phone Telstra.

"The USIM has been deactivated.  I'll transfer you to the activations and reactivations department so they can reactivate it for you."

But the lady in the activations + reactivations department gave me the following bad news :

A Telstra NextG data SIM expires permanently after just ONE MONTH without a current data allowance.

I don't recall reading THAT in the promotional material.

I expected to be able to go a month here, a few months there, without using it.

Maybe a permanent expiry after six months of no use would make sense.

But just ONE MONTH?

This means that if you want to use the Telstra NextG USB modem, you have to be buying a new data pack every other month at the very least, even if you're not using the service.

I thought the point of "prepaid" was that you could control exactly what you spent and when!

Apparently I was wrong.

Now, it's not all bad, but it kinda gets worse in one sense...

The lady helpfully informed me that I can just go to a retail outlet and buy another SIM for only $2, then recharge it with whatever denomination I want.

Well, that's nice in terms of getting up & running again now, but that's a lot of hassle if I'm intending to recharge just at the point of need.

I mean, let's keep this in focus : I am willing to pay $20 for a recharge (the minimum recharge amount) for that odd occasion I'm out in the country and suddenly need internet access to provide tech support.

I won't use anywhere near the data allowance on the $20 recharge, I'll typically only use it for tens of minutes, and then it will sit unused for the remainder of its 30 day expiry period and expire mostly unused.

In other words, Telstra's profit margin on my occasional $20 recharge would be STUPENDOUS, and I would still feel like I'm getting value, for the sake of being able to provide tech support on a moment's notice at those critical moments.

But now I'm being told that actually, I need to keep on feedin' the card with recharges, whether I need them or not.

The value proposition of the Telstra NextG device is now plummeting, because its minimum cost has suddenly gone from $99 (the purchase price), to $99 + $120 per year.  Not a huge amount, but that's assuming I accept the major hassle of timing my recharges perfectly, and never muck up and have to go through the hassle of getting yet another new SIM.  If I take the low-brain-power option (automatic monthly $20 recharges), then we're suddenly talking about $240 per year.  Minimum.

As a backup device that would only cost money when needed, and the point of need would justify the cost, it was a valuable proposition.

But a minimum of $240 per year, whether I use it or not?

Sorry, I think I'm going to explore alternatives.

AND I don't think this was adequately disclosed at the point of sale.

The device is not fit for the purpose for which I purchased it, yet I purchased it in good faith based on the representations of and impressions made by the sales and marketing material.

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On another note, I was ASTOUNDED by the Telstra phone service!  I'm used to SHOCKING service.  But I received commendable service.

For starters, I rang, and the phone was answered by a HUMAN!  This has never happened before!

The human directed my call skillfully.

I waited only a few minutes at most.

An operator apologised for the inconvenience of my NextG device expiring (I didn't make a big deal about it to them, even though it is a big deal, so the fact that they apologised without prompting is nice), and one even said "thanks for your patience with Telstra".

"Thanks for your patience with Telstra"!!!  What is the world coming to!  A big Telco that understands that we, its customers, are humans, and that they have required us to exercise patience!  It's like a great big warm heart has been mystically transplanted into what once was the worst of customer service offenders in the country (or at least, the most notable).

So, I don't know what's happening at Telstra, but something good is happening.

I'm getting answers when I call.

I'm speaking with people I don't have too much trouble understanding.

The list goes on.

It'll take a while, but if they keep up like this, people might even begin to think highly of Telstra.

Like I said, it'll take a while...