Telstra announced price hikes for its mobile plans, targeting wealthier customers while aiming to keep plans affordable for others.

Price increases range from $2-4 per month, impacting premium plans the most, with some prices reaching $99 per month.

Basic, essential, and bundle plans will also see increases, while starter plans remain unchanged but offer more data.

The Large Data Plan will be discontinued, and the Telstra Top Up program will now cost $180 for 70GB of data.

These changes are designed to maximize revenue without losing customers to competitors, following similar moves by Optus and Vodafone.

Telstra's CEO announced a 10% workforce cut, focusing on the enterprise unit facing challenges from internet-based services.

Despite criticism, analysts predict minimal impact on customer churn rates, and Telstra's shares rose over 3% in early trading.

Critics argue the price hikes are unjustified given ongoing cost-of-living pressures, but Telstra defends them as necessary for technology investment and meeting customer demand.