Telstra is the only Australian carrier in this comparison and the most expensive published rate in it, at 14c for a month of 1,000 messages falling to 11c at 125,000, excluding GST, on the SMS Access Manager ladder in Our Customer Terms Part J. Mobile Message publishes 3.5c to 2.5c across the same four volumes, so a buyer pays Telstra roughly four times as much per message. What the premium buys is a direct carrier relationship rather than an aggregator, which is the reason a large sender chooses it. Requesting delivery receipts adds a cent at every tier. The tiers also carry minimum monthly charges, from $1,273 at 10,000 messages to $102,273 above 1.5 million, though at each of the four benchmark volumes the messages themselves cost more than the minimum, so the minimum does not set the price.
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#5 of the 11 providers with a published Australian rate, and one of 44 brands reviewed.
Telstra is the only Australian carrier in this comparison and the most expensive published rate in it, at 14c for a month of 1,000 messages falling to 11c at 125,000, excluding GST, on the SMS Access Manager ladder in Our Customer Terms Part J. Mobile Message publishes 3.5c to 2.5c across the same four volumes, so a buyer pays Telstra roughly four times as much per message. What the premium buys is a direct carrier relationship rather than an aggregator, which is the reason a large sender chooses it. Requesting delivery receipts adds a cent at every tier. The tiers also carry minimum monthly charges, from $1,273 at 10,000 messages to $102,273 above 1.5 million, though at each of the four benchmark volumes the messages themselves cost more than the minimum, so the minimum does not set the price.
An Australian-registered company with its head office in Australia and support based here. How we classify this.
Sending under your own brand name also depends on the ACMA SMS Sender ID Register, separate from this site's own scoring. What the register requires.
| Messages a month | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1K | 14.00c |
| 15K | 13.00c |
| 125K | 11.00c |
| 250K | 11.00c |
Telstra sells two different products and only one of them has a current, readable rate. The rates carried here are SMS Access Manager, from Our Customer Terms, Telstra Mobile Part J, Enhanced Business Services, last changed 15 June 2026. Its Single Rate ladder for non-registered messages runs, excluding GST: 14c at no volume commitment with a $0 minimum monthly charge, 13c from 10,000 a month at a $1,273 minimum, 12c from 50,001 at $5,909, 11c from 100,001 at $10,909, 9c from 250,001 at $22,727, 8c from 500,001 at $40,909, 7c from 1,000,001 at $72,727 and 6.8c from 1,500,001 at $102,273. Each benchmark takes the tier it falls in, and at none of the four does the minimum monthly charge exceed the messages themselves, so the minimum never sets the price: 1,000 a month is the no-commitment tier at 14c, 15,000 is the 10,000 tier at 13c, and both 125,000 and 250,000 sit inside the 100,001 to 250,000 tier at 11c. REQUESTING DELIVERY RECEIPTS COSTS MORE. A second ladder for registered messages charges 15c, 14c, 13c and 12c at the same four tiers, so a reader comparing like for like against providers that include delivery reports free should read one cent higher at every volume. The 6c figure this site used to publish is not carried: it belongs to the separate Telstra Messaging API pay-as-you-go plan, and it sits on a Critical Information Summary, document MOSB2810-24102017, created 12 October 2017 and last republished 16 April 2019, on a product whose Our Customer Terms clause 5.22 tells customers not to use it "for any purpose which results in large volumes of messages being sent through our Short Message Centre". Messaging API Enterprise per-message rates are set in the application form and are not published.
Read from the provider's own pricing page on 2026-09-09.
At 15,000 messages a month Telstra costs $1,950, $1,500 more than Mobile Message, $1,050 above the field median. Rates are each provider's published price at the 15K tier; above 250,000 most providers negotiate.
SMS Access Manager enables customers to use their own SMS-capable application to send and receive large volumes of messages almost instantly. It is a highly reliable direct connection to the Telstra Next G® network, as well as other domestic and international mobile networks. It offers a range of key features such as ease and speed, high throughput levels, two-way messaging capability, delivery reporting and an enhanced level of security.
Telstra, a prominent telecommunications company in Australia, offers SMS services tailored for businesses. Their SMS Access Manager solution allows businesses to send and receive large volumes of messages almost instantly.
This highly reliable service utilizes a direct connection to the Telstra Next G network as well as other domestic and international mobile networks. Telstra provides customizable options, including wireless, dial-up, and short message peer-to-peer (SMPP) access. Their service ensures efficient, secure, and fast communication for various business needs, supported by competitive volume-based pricing.
The most expensive way of sending a text message to mobile end users is to distribute an SMS through Telstra Access Manager operations.
It does not compare well with cheaper SMS distributors such as Cellcast and Chatti. Comparing the difference in pricing is around five (5) times more expensive to send an SMS through the Telstra Access Manager system. There is mention of a discounted cost per SMS text message if there is a commitment to a higher minimum messaging volume, but no details are specified.
There is no mention of setup fees, monthly fees, or contracts with any offer of postpaid plans where Telstra will invoice at the end of the month. There is also no mention of a price-beat guarantee, which claims that Telstra will beat any competitor’s price based on similar services.
Telstra has the software tools to assist clients in offering their customers marketing opportunities, such as specials and discounted pricing for goods or services. This can be accomplished within a few seconds of distribution. This provider has a robust platform allowing the client to access mobiles across Australia for fast mass distribution.
SMS Access Manager only requires internet access and uses two protocol specifications. It gives a direct connection to Telstra’s Mobile SMS network and access to other domestic and international networks, with some limitations that may apply.
The Dial-up Access Manager is an SMS messaging service that allows equipment plugged into a Telstra telephone landline or fixed line to send SMS messages.
Since November 2011, Telstra has changed its Dial-Up Access Manager platform. The platform enables the automated sending of text messages via a modem interface and is typically used for applications such as security and IT alarms, personal alerts and industrial applications.
Regarding the reliability of the distribution of text messages to the end users, there is no mention that they claim they can deliver a reliable 99.99% uptime Service Level Agreement or a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which is evident with some other SMS providers. However, it uses its Tier 1 telecommunication carrier and other international carriers that are very reliable and efficient, ensuring prompt distribution and instant message delivery.
Telstra SMS Access Manager is particular about its security and privacy statements, explaining how it collects, stores, uses, and shares personal information. It also incorporates its Credit Reporting Policy, which lets businesses know how they use any credit-related information they might collect.
Businesses or customers are prohibited from using Telstra Mobile SMS/MMS Access Manager to send marketing messages (messages designed to promote the sale of or demand goods or services) unless they comply with the Spam Act 2003, ACIF’s Guidelines for SMS, and other applicable laws.
This SMS distributor has a range of ways to communicate with interested parties, either as first-timers or as continual clients. Using 1300 Telstra (1300 835 787) or telstra.com.au/business-enterprise, there is the availability of a request for a callback where one of their solutions experts will get back to you or find a customer contact expert who will get in touch with the right expert for you.
There is no record of reviews received and recorded by the reliable Trustpilot site.
Telstra SMS Access Manager provides a carrier-grade access medium to Telstra’s mobile network and messaging gateways.
It is a highly reliable direct connection to the Telstra Next G® network and other domestic and international mobile networks.
This SMS distributor can facilitate the rapid, reliable sending and receiving of large messages using a PC or specific SMS application.
| Measure | Telstra | Cellcast |
|---|---|---|
| Overall out of 10 | 6.7 | 9.0 |
| Rate at 1K | 14.00c | 3.70c |
| Rate at 15K | 13.00c | 3.10c |
| Rate at 125K | 11.00c | 2.83c |
| Rate at 250K | 11.00c | 2.83c |
| Cost at 15,000 a month | $1,950 | $465 |
| Carrier routes | Messages are hosted and sent from "our Australian messaging gateway"; Telstra is the carrier. | not published |
| Uptime | No uptime figure is published and Telstra disclaims one: the service is not guaranteed to be "fault free or continuous, or that SMS messages will be sent in a timely manner", and customers are told not to rely on it for time-sensitive messages | "100% uptime SLA" and a "100% delivery rate guarantee"; no SLA document, credit schedule or remedy is published behind either |
| Dedicated number | Yes | Yes |
| Shared number | not published | Yes |
| Alpha sender ID | Yes | Yes |
| Email to SMS | not published | Yes |
| SMPP | Yes | not published |
| Two way | not published | Yes |
| Support | Business support line 13 2000, with local support stated for pay-as-you-go and enterprise plans | 8am to 8pm AEST staffed, with 24/7 emergency tickets; phone, email and SMS |
| Head office | Melbourne, Victoria | South Melbourne, Victoria |
| Public reviews | not published | 4.2/5 from 6 reviews on Trustpilot |
Every figure on this page comes from a page the provider or a named third party publishes. The site does not open accounts or send test traffic, so this is the record of what was read and when. Where a capture is linked, it was taken from an Australian IP address, because several providers serve a different rate card, currency or number type depending on where the request comes from.
| Checked | Date read | What it said |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate card | Telstra sells two different products and only one of them has a current, readable rate. The rates carried here are SMS Access Manager, from Our Customer Terms, Telstra Mobile Part J, Enhanced Business Services, last changed 15 June 2026. Its Single Rate ladder for non-registered messages runs, excluding GST: 14c at no volume commitment with a $0 minimum monthly charge, 13c from 10,000 a month at a $1,273 minimum, 12c from 50,001 at $5,909, 11c from 100,001 at $10,909, 9c from 250,001 at $22,727, 8c from 500,001 at $40,909, 7c from 1,000,001 at $72,727 and 6.8c from 1,500,001 at $102,273. Each benchmark takes the tier it falls in, and at none of the four does the minimum monthly charge exceed the messages themselves, so the minimum never sets the price: 1,000 a month is the no-commitment tier at 14c, 15,000 is the 10,000 tier at 13c, and both 125,000 and 250,000 sit inside the 100,001 to 250,000 tier at 11c. REQUESTING DELIVERY RECEIPTS COSTS MORE. A second ladder for registered messages charges 15c, 14c, 13c and 12c at the same four tiers, so a reader comparing like for like against providers that include delivery reports free should read one cent higher at every volume. The 6c figure this site used to publish is not carried: it belongs to the separate Telstra Messaging API pay-as-you-go plan, and it sits on a Critical Information Summary, document MOSB2810-24102017, created 12 October 2017 and last republished 16 April 2019, on a product whose Our Customer Terms clause 5.22 tells customers not to use it "for any purpose which results in large volumes of messages being sent through our Short Message Centre". Messaging API Enterprise per-message rates are set in the application form and are not published. See the page as it stood | |
| Score block published on this review page | Overall 6.67 out of 10, the mean of the six criteria published there |
