By Stuart Condie


SYDNEY--Telstra will raise prices for its postpaid and prepaid mobile services during its current fiscal half, saying it needs to keep investing in technology to meet growing demand.

Australia's largest telecommunications provider on Tuesday said that it would raise monthly prices on most mobile plans by between 2 and 4 Australian dollars (US$1.35-US$2.70). In May, Telstra scrapped inflation-linked annual price rises, citing a need for greater flexibility.

Telstra, which will raise postpaid prices on Aug. 27 and prepaid prices on Oct. 22, said that traffic on its mobile network had increased more than threefold over the last five years and was now growing at an annual rate of about 20%.

"Telstra has balanced cost of living pressures it knows some of its customers are experiencing, with its need to continue to invest to manage technology evolution and continued strong customer demand on its mobile network," Telstra said.


Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-08-24 1848ET