Presto app coming to Telstra T-Box

Foxtel Presto arriving on T-Box
Dreaming of streaming on an unboxed T-Box

With the news that Netflix is launching all guns blazing on pretty much every device you own on March 24, you may have been wondering how rival Foxtel Presto was going to respond.

The answer, it seems is by partnering with the nation's largest telco, Telstra, signing a reseller agreement that will allow the service to be bundled with Telstra services.

While there's a lot of opportunities for the brands to work together, the most exciting is the confirmation that a Presto app will "soon launch" on Telstra's T-Box set top box.

This marks the first instance that Presto will be available on a device that connects directly to a big screen, instead of relying on a Chromecast for wireless streaming.

Un-box the app

More than just T-Box though, the reseller arrangement means that Telstra can start bundling the service to eligible customers now. So they have.

Pre-paid Telstra mobile customers who activate their account before May 25 will get a three month subscription to the Presto service for free.

Post-paid customers aren't completely left out in the cold either, with new and recontracting Telstra post-paid customers across mobiles, tablets and mobile broadband also getting the three month deal.

Metre by metre

Telstra broadband customers also benefit from the partnership, with the telco confirming that fixed-line customers (as well as Foxtel Broadband customers) will be able to stream without incurring any data usage.

The same unmetering sadly doesn't apply to mobile customers – who could arguably use it more – although the day that video streaming services are unmetered in this country is a long, long way away.

It's all a pretty useful leg up for Presto, in a market that is getting more competitive every day.

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Having spent the past decade editing some of Australia's leading technology publications, Nick's passion for the latest gadgetry is matched only by his love of watching Australia beat England in the rugby.