Best Prices on Unlimited Access using part of Telstra's Mobile Network!
FREE SIM STARTER PACK ($4.99 Postage and Handling per SIM)
- Includes 100 minutes + 100 SMS + 100MB Data (expiry not stated)
| Plan | Cost | Expiry | Calls/SMS | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data 30 | $9.99 | 30 Days | N/A | 2GB |
| Access 30 | $29 | 30 Days | Unlimited | 6GB/Month |
| Access 90 | $79 | 90 Days | Unlimited | 6GB/Month |
| Access 365 | $299 | 365 Days | Unlimited | 6GB/Month |
Data is rounded up to the nearest MB per Session
no you will not get 4g speeds, nor the nextg network speed.
Indeed, the only service Telstra resells is their plain old TW3G network, which typically gets 0.3 to 1.1 Mbps.
oh WOW. that's pretty horrible. I get 8mbps on RedBull which is on Voda…
I'd rather get the $365 for 15 months and forgo the extra 1gb/month for $0.70 cheaper and faster speeds.
Actually scratch that, I'm going to Vaya :D
What did Vaya do? I was considering them.
I can only speak from my own personal experience, but vaya have been great for the two months I've been with them. Their CEO Ben is on the whirlpool forums as well, and is happy to be a direct line of contact if you have any dramas.
So, "part of Telstra's network" means the non-4G part, right?
Does it include the Next G part? (Ie, would the $10 / 2 GB deal work for folks in the Bush, who are in Next G areas?)
If so, are we -assured- it'll -stay- Testra 3G + Next G?
MORE IMPORTANT is: What's the -billing- block-size? Eg, 1 KB? or bigger?
These "deals" tend to end-up like Loan Agreements, in the old days…
you've got to pour over pages of legalese to extract the "hairy" details,
eg, that you'd be (in a Loan) be paying interest + maintenance fees, etc.
on news.com.au telstra has confirmed kogan dont have access to Next G either.
Yawn. I'd rather use AmaySIM on Optus than this. Telstra's 3G Network in Melbourne CBD, Richmond and St Kilda is un-usable (and South Melbourne). And i'd rather not give a cent to Kogan.
That said I'm on Telstra's LTE Network. If it was that then I'd throw money at him for this!
…and if their teleco support is anything like their after-sales sevice, I'd give this one a miss, regardless of how good it appears cost-wise. Just sayin'.
According to Kogan:
"Kogan Mobile has a typical download speed of 550kbps-3Mbps and upload speed of 300kbps-1Mbps (peak network download speed of 7.2Mbps)"
https://www.koganmobile.com.au/about-us
I just took and 5 tests on RedBull (Vodafone) and got an average of 6.7 Mbps with my highest at 8.2 mbps.
I tried doing a speedtest on my friend's voda phone the other day. Speedtest couldn't find the closest server because the data network was so congested. ;)
(Other times he gets 2-4Mbps though)
yeah, but typical from a telco doesn't mean jack. if you ask why you don't seem to match their typical range, they will just blow you off and say its an anomaly :D I imagine Kogan as a telco/reseller would be pretty hilarious!
Lol @ part of the network
what does it actually mean?
I'd say it's due to the fact it doesn't include nextg and 4g
Here are the links to compare the "Kogan" and "NextG" networks :)
http://www.koganmobile.com.au/legals/terms#coverage-tw
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/coverage-networks/ou…
per month approx $24.90
cheaper than red bull mobile, but lycamobile $24 per month unlimited is still cheaper (by 90c)
edit: actually red bull mobile is still cheaper at $24.33 per month if you take on 3 extra months
though disadvantages of red bull and lyca is the less data they give :L
well if Kogan is only using telstra 2G network then lycamobile is the same, and it is cheaper.
But Kogan said to be using Telstra 3G but really it is not. Coverage claimed by Kogan is 97% but Telstra NextG is 99%. So perhaps they are using the same one where Vodafone share with Telstra on 2100mHz?
even on telstras 2g network, at least you get consistent and strong connections
consistent 2g > inconsistent vodafail network with dropouts
Partnership with Vodafone and Telstra on 2100 ended back in August.
yes but lyca will give you a 2g network… where is redbull and kogan provides 3g
The data will be the clincher. 6gb is fantastic and a lot more than the other telco's currently offer, but it means stuff all if the speed isn't there to use it.
So what part of the network is it using?
Probably the part running on a bit of string with two paper cups! ;)
Or worse, the part running with a paper cup and two bits of string. :)
I think that bit is actually Voda's backbone! :p
I knew you'd come to the party, StewBalls. :)
You know me well, it's a party line! ;)
what carrier does Lycamobile use ?
Telstra 2G
According to this article..
http://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/technology/kogan-to-lau…
Coverage is only 960,000 square km.
Where Telstra Next G is 2.1 million square km. So only about 45% of the coverage it would appear?
interesting considering it still claims 97% coverage (on the kogan website)
"of the population" is the usual, not of the country.
It would be interesting to see what they consider "covering" a member of the population i.e. they get coverage at work but not at home so they are "covered." I hate statistics they almost always lie. i.e. the government defines you as employed if you work 6hrs a week…. that's how Rudd raised employment lol but interpreting the data differently.
Very interested to know how reliable the data speeds are. Quoted at "It will have a peak network download speed of 7.2Mbps and upload speed of 300kbps-1Mbps." sounds kind of promising… I'm thinking this may cause a lot of people to give up on Vodafail if they haven't already. Interesting times.
I am sure this will be sharing with Vodafone on 2100mHz…if teally is 3G as Telstra do not let any other reseller access their 850mHz
According to the kogan website: "Kogan Mobile is underpinned by over 6,600 3G 850MHz sites"
Also regarding speeds: "has a typical download speed of 550kbps-3Mbps and upload speed of 300kbps-1Mbps"
That equates roughly to typical download speeds of 69-384KB/s
hmmm.
http://telstrawholesale.com.au/download/document/postpaidmob…
this also showed that it will use part of 850mhz, but the fact is that Telstra stopped using the 2100mHz 3G (which I think is what they resells to resellers) which previously was shared with Vodafone.
http://ausdroid.net/2011/08/02/telstra-will-cease-using-thei…
which previously was shared with Vodafone.
I think you are referring to the network that was formerly shared by 3 and Telstra (3GIS).
To my knowledge Telstra never did wholesale 3G before their current offering which you have linked to…
well it says since early of this year.
So far,
Southern Phone and Indigo Telecom are claimed to be Telstra 3G
By "current offering you have linked to" I was referring to http://telstrawholesale.com.au/download/document/postpaidmob… which is the same wholesale 3G that was launched earlier this year and what appears to be offered by Kogan here and others like Southern Phone.
There was no previous wholesale 3G offering and there was no network shared with Vodafone it was with 3.
Those are theoretical peaks apparently. ZDNet says it won't typically exceed 1.1MBps download. Kinda dampens the deals somewhat.
yeah the "typical" speeds really arent all that flash when compared to what available for 4G. Still, for the price… not bad.
It's not even flash compared to NextG.
Does anyone know if Kogan Mobile will have access to HSPA+ on the Telstra network? Or is this classed under the Telstra Next G network? Thanks!
I'd wager it is like three used to be - where you more or less got access to Telstra in areas where other providers have coverage, but not in Telstra exclusive bits.
ARGHHHH I WAS JUST ABOUT TO POST THAT!!
And I just signed up to Live Connect :S (like half an hour ago :P)
People still sign up to LC? Have you not checked out vaya?
Nope, will do.
Thanks mate, cancelling my LC, Vaya has some pretty good value!
Basically if your phone doesn't support DC HDPA, 4G and to a lesser extent 21mbps+ it might be worth looking into.
6gb of data would cost more than $59 a month on prepaid telstra. I wouldn't be surprised if this Kogan isn't faster than Vodafone in most places.
Most modern smartphones support 21mbps HSDPA?
Only the very latest support DC HSDPA or 4G.
Would anyone know if the "Data 30" pack will charge you more if you go over 2gb, or will it stop your service once u reach 2gb and thus you won't be able to use more than 2gb unless you recharge.
Given that it is sort of a prepaid thing, I'd assume you'll get cut off.
More information about "part of telstra" - telstra started wholesaling 3G at the start of this year:
http://www.zdnet.com/telstra-starts-offering-wholesale-3g-13…
This pretty much details Telstra's Wholesale network: http://telstrawholesale.com.au/download/document/postpaidmob…
Good for voice/SMS or if you live in a metro area. No next g coverage means rural coverage will be lacking.
Good deal if it does indeed use Telstra 3G network
Would it be possible to port a Telstra number to the Kogan service?
It is (as far as I know) possible to do this with almost any service provider (unless they're really rubbish), but you'll probably have to call them upon activation to do so.
More reading, Telstra claim that they have NOT resold anything to Kogan:
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/telstra_distances_itself_fro…
So who is telling the truth…
Oh so dodgey..
Wouldnt touch a Kogan sim with a 3m pool pole
Telstra claimed they do not have a direct relationship with kogan, which is true.
Telstra sold off the low end part of their network to wholesalers last september i think, and kogan has purchased off one of these wholesalers. So not direct relationship, but still telstra's network. Telstra just doesn't want to be seen to be in any way associated with Kogan.
Nothing too dodgy.
I personally think that a reseller should have a close relationship with the telco that's providing the service. Good luck getting faults resolved while having to deal with intermediaries
True that. I wonder how good customer support will be.
Given previous dealings with Kogan, I'm gna say not great.
everything is handled via Telstra Wholesale's LinxOnline interfaces - LOLM, LOLIG, LOLO etc. Won't matter who it is being provided through.
neither of them they are in the telco business! :D
wow!
Speed and network coverage aside, how good is their simplified plan! Unlimited call/txt/sms for a low price. No longer need to worry about caps, plans, flagfalls, cost per minute etc, its just one price for unlimited access. The industry needs more of this IMO.
Redbull had this since way back when.
For cheaper too. (sorta)
On the contrary the industry needs more plans like TPG's payg $1/month plan. You only pay for what you use at fairly reasonable rates (10c SMS, 10c/min calls etc). Though even those rates are looking a bit expensive these days.
SMS has -always- been the dearest way to buy mobile -data-
Couldn't agree more :) that's my plan for 2 mobiles and an iPad. Love the fact that your data and calls never expire! and all for only $1 a month.
Kogan might not have bought the service from Tesltra directly. Might go through another company that wholesale from Telstra.
Any idea on Expiry of the Starter "100 free minutes, 100 free SMS and 100MB of data"?
Billing per minute?
Data Block size?
Rounded up Data Sessions to nearest MB.
If it included international it would be better.
What's good about this is it opens the door to competitive pressure on a cheap Telstra network infrastructure even if it is 3G. Which should make other resellers of Optus and Vodafone throw in some more extras. Plus if resellers start looking to move their wholesale purchase to Telstra 3G, maybe Optus (and Vodafone when they have it) will start reselling LTE to counter that…
Maybe a silly question but can we move our existing number across? This is the only thing that's preventing me from buying now.
I have an old tattered iPhone 3GS, no contracts and don't give a f*** about 4G, just want a simply phone that I can call, text and occasionally check bus/train/movie start/directions/etc… thoughts?
Need unlimited? If not, check out Vaya plans.
It will probably work fine, but it might sometimes drop to edge or 2g.
The deal appears to be alright.
I was with liveconnected ppl who are considering I will strongly recommend them to stay away. I have TIO'ed them. Terrible service.
I'm on one of LC's grandfathered plan. I find everything great. What was your problem with them?
The worst provider I have come across. I had an issue with the excess data charges and had a hard time getting someone to address the issue. I guess if you always stay under the allowance and never need assistance they will be fine. But God forbid if you ever need customer service you'll know what I am talking about. I thought Vodafone was bad until I had issues with live connected.
Plain and simple, $11 a month doesn't get you good service.
At least for $11 VAYA will cap your spend to $11.
Looks like a good deal for heavy mobile users. However I don't make unlimited calls nor use anywhere near 6GB of data. So Vaya at $11/month is a much better deal for me.
Would also be a good deal for those who are stuck in a rural area with no other Broadband option but 3g.
Let's just say once you go 4G, you'll never want to go back =)
Because you ran out of battery… :P
lol touche, but luckily I can still get a day of use out of my phone.
I wouldn't mind some real world feedback of how it actually compares to fully fledged NextG as far as call quality goes (excluding data) as it is clearly at least a sub-set of NextG it must have something behind it. Maybe it doesn't include all towers? (Maybe it doesn't include towers where there is no competing Optus/Voda coverage?).
If the voice coverage is up to scratch, it may be worth getting a Telstra data-only 4G WiFi device (eg: Prepaid 4G Wifi, Postpaid G Wifi, 4G Android/iPad with Wifi Hotspot) with it (data is less expensive on a data service than a voice service) and you put your smartphone onto the "Wifi" of the hotspot when you need fast Telstra 4G/Full NextG goodness (even if you don't have a 4G phone!)
A Quick Estimation,
Kogan $299 of NextG-lite with 6GB data per month = $24.91 per month.
+
Telstra $56 per month of full NextG/4G 8GB Data including the Wi-Fi device on 24 month contract
=
$80.91 per month which includes Unlimited calls/text on NextG (native calls/texts don't even work over 4G yet), 6GB of NextG-lite data + 8GB of Full NextG/4G data (14GB total).
Seems like a good deal to me. This would cost at least $100 on a Telstra plan and only have 3GB of Full NextG/4G Data (compared to 8GB Full NextG/4G)
The only thing that can go wrong with this plan is if NextG-lite actually has some areas that are not covered at all by Telstra.
And I wonder if Telstra-locked phones would work on their resellers, like the Voda/Optus-locked phones work on their resellers.
As an update to this. I just had a look over the Kogan maps vs Telstra NextG (not 4G) vs Three Mobile maps (who still roams to Telstra even though their home network is shut down).
it appears that NextG-lite covers exactly the same areas where Three-roaming is allowed. Where Telstra have areas where they don't allow Three-roaming, it is the same for NextG-lite.
Even though Three's home network (3GIS) is shut down now, Telstra had allowed Three customers to roam onto the NextG network in certain areas but not in others (and charged a ridiculous 50c/MB for it), and it seems that this element of NextG roaming has been carried over to be open wholesale (Where obviously the defunct 3GIS service has not).
Three don't allow new signups so Telstra would have a shrinking customer base for this offering of non-Telstra NextG access. Still protecting the crown jewels of offering coverage where nobody else has, and only opening up towers that are competing with Optus (and to a lesser extent Vodafone if such a place exists where there is Vodafone coverage but no Optus coverage).
Works fine for me though. I live squarely in the city and never leave, so I would have full NextG-lite coverage. Those living regional/rural or on the edge of the city and like to venture out, or you venture all over the state/country, you are still stuck with Telstra.
If this is you, I suggest looking at Telstra Pre-Paid though, Telstra Pre-Paid if fully fledged NextG/4G and usually cheaper than post-paid if you don't need unlimited calls during the day (but they do have unlimited 6PM-6AM on $30+ Pre-Paid Cap recharge).
Would you really need 8gb of data a month?
Not to mention the inconvenience of carrying a portable wifi device, the battery life of which is usually only a few hours as well.
Well it depends on your needs, I was just using 8GB/month as an example. You could just as well get a pre-paid option such as 12GB/year. You would not need to have the Portable Device on or active all the time, only at times where you "feel the need, the need for speed" (what would be the point of even having Full NextG or 4G if you never felt the need for speed). If you don't need a lot of Full NextG/4G data, then I think it is safe to say that you are not really using it very much so that is why I picked a realistic example of 8GB/month for someone who heavily relies on the Full NextG/4G coverage and NextG-lite would not be sufficient due to data speeds.
For times when you don't have the need speed (If such a thing even exists! but maybe such as when your phone is in your pocket) NextG-lite will happily run with the Wifi device turned off, collecting all your background data for push notifications, or other non-data intensive operations and the like. The main thing is to have the excellent Telstra 850mhz voice coverage at this price, which is noticeably better (by some, depending on the exact areas they frequent) than Optus/Voda even in the city.
"Standard Mobile Calls, Standard National Calls, Calls to 1300 & 1800 Numbers, Voicemail Deposits & Retrievals."
What does it meant by "standard mobile" and " Standard National" are there "none- Standard" one ? That meant a smart phone can turn into a GPS navigation in the car, right ?
Satelite mobiles and the funky commercial services that look like normal 04 mobile numbers.
Pivotel (satellite) is usually the only exclusion.
I'm surprised that Kogan will continue to expand everything faster…..I wonder they will collapse one day or not.
I think they have realised that they can only grow that big selling LCD TVs — so they started selling grey import items.
Then they realised that they can only make that much profit selling electronics goods — so they branched out to resell mobile plans.
Who knows what they are going to do next but it's common (and necessary) for retailers to start new business to continue to grow. Catch of the Day for example.
Question, if it's on the Telstra network can you get 4g speeds?