Romour has it that Australia Post will have a Pre-Paid SIM available by mid year also. So lots of choice these days
I might be interested in that. They are using Telstra 3G I understand from the news on TV. Would halve my mobile phone account.
SaltyDog said
11:18 AM Mar 2, 2013
I have stated that it uses Telstra Wholesale, which is not the Full Telstra NextG Network (or whatever they call it just to be different from everyone else), but it is close enough for most people (unless you move around the NW of WA). You really have to do your homework, but a quick look at the maps will show, you're not missing much!
Yes the data rate is capped at 7.2Mb/s, but show me a Telstra customer that gets more anyway! My GF is on Telstra 4G and lives in a 4G area and i get better speeds on my Optus handset half the time, which is the older 3G. Boost does use the entire Telstra network including 4G, but it comes at a price compared to these alternatives.... But may be worth a look if you need the full Telstra experience.
So far, Kogan is offering deals that are miles in front of anyone else. If you are a very light user, then Aldi might have something for you. Their $15 for 365 days, is great for sim based Alarms, Telemetics or anything that only needs 1mb a day or those that just receive calls and wish to be on a good network all year.
Your link wouldn't work for me, not sure why, just comes up 404 page error. Says the page has been removed or permantly deleted. Wonder why???
Everyone i know whom is using the new Kogan is super happy, this Aldi deal will be the same footprint, just different pricing structure.
Oh and what you say about needing an UNLOCKED phone isnt correct, the Kogan and Aldi SIM will work in any Telstra locked handset, as it uses the same APN.
Infact, you can use either of the known Telstra APNs, both work the same as far as i've found.
Which is great, as you can buy one of these discount SIM deals and slap it in your Telstra Branded anything!!! Iphone, Ipad, MiFi unit, Modem, whatever......
NO need to Unlock it or make any changes....
The only time it will be an issue is if you have a Optus/Virgin/Vodafone Locked device.... But i doubt many Travellers use those providers for the obvious reasons.
Its only win win for use as users, more choice..... more options.... more competion!
-- Edited by SaltyDog on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:27:21 AM
Cupie said
06:24 PM Mar 2, 2013
Be careful .. Just because they use 'Telstra 3G' that doesn't necessarily mean that they have access to all of the 3G network or the down & up speed is the 3G maximum.
Make sure that your (unlocked of course) handset is fully compatable with 3G frequencies.
I am informed that 'Boost' is worth looking at if you are interested in coverage & speed.
My comments were merely aimed at highlighting that as with most things and certainly communications, it is difficult to do comparisons. I have no opinion/preference re the relative merits of any of the offerings.
The comment about "locked" devices may apply to those contemplating moving from non Telstra suppliers or resellers, as may be the issue of handset frequency compatability & I intended to point out that those contemplating changing should do their homework carefully before commiting their hard earned.
re the link .. maybe I should have inserted ZD Net Home Page ... you can use the link provided to navigate to the home page & then search for Boost Prepaid article. I'll try again.
ps. The page that was pulled down may have been another one that I was looking at which related to NBN fibre to the premises v Fibre to the node as seems to be the Turnbul plan. It got into an aminated & personal discussion between the Journalist & a contributor .. Just a thought & I may be wrong.
AL H said
12:43 AM Mar 3, 2013
Looking at the wholesale coverage map, it looks fine. No 4G/LTE? Big deal!
The best/easiest homework you could do is get the Kogan sim for $5 and give it a trial.
Al.
SaltyDog said
03:02 AM Mar 3, 2013
AL H wrote:
Looking at the wholesale coverage map, it looks fine. No 4G/LTE? Big deal!
The best/easiest homework you could do is get the Kogan sim for $5 and give it a trial.
Al.
Exactly.... which myself a many others have done.
For Covarege its fine (same as Telstra on the east coast)
For Data Speed, its also fine, being faster than all over options and on par with Telstra or slightly less, but nothing anyone could really care about.
For Congestion, now there is an interesting point, i have had a poor result here, but generally its fine.
For Ping times, its great, better than other 3G options.
tonyd said
08:43 AM Mar 6, 2013
Interesting developments in mobile providers. The Aldi 365-day plan looks good for those like me who want to make the occasional call but not worry about topping up every 30 days.
The only trouble is that we poor, deprived West Aussies don't have Aldi. If the Sims prove not to be available by mail from Aldi, are there any regular GN Aldi customers who might be prepared to buy a Sim and post it westwards? All costs more than covered, of course.
Cheers, Tony
Duh said
09:23 AM Mar 6, 2013
tonyd wrote:
Interesting developments in mobile providers. The Aldi 365-day plan looks good for those like me who want to make the occasional call but not worry about topping up every 30 days.
The only trouble is that we poor, deprived West Aussies don't have Aldi. If the Sims prove not to be available by mail from Aldi, are there any regular GN Aldi customers who might be prepared to buy a Sim and post it westwards? All costs more than covered, of course.
Cheers, Tony
Hi Tony, if you have a Telstra prepaid, you can put your top up for 12 months, there is a minimum top up for that ($100 I think) but then you can top it up during that time with lesser amounts before 12 months expiry. I had to ring them to get the 12 months prepaid date as I don't make many calls and prefer the longer period so I dont have to worry about it. I still get them sending me top up offers, eg; put $30 bucks on before ........and get so many free text messages etc.
Cruising Cruze said
06:14 PM Mar 6, 2013
did go to Aldie this morning at 8e clock and no smart phones there ,maybe at an later stage maybe something is telling us not to get one what a pitty
John
AL H said
10:01 PM Mar 6, 2013
I picked up an Aldi sim this morning to tide me over till the Kogan sim arrives in apparently 5-6 weeks. All I'm chasing is the data for work.
Since 10:00am I have been waiting for the sim to activate even though for hours it has said online that it is ready to use. It would be a busy day for Aldimobile I'd say, so whether this has anything to do with it!
Al.
SaltyDog said
10:46 PM Mar 7, 2013
Thanks Al, keep us posted.
AL H said
04:22 AM Mar 8, 2013
SaltyDog wrote:
Thanks Al, keep us posted.
Grrrr, haha! All well now though thanks to a little lady in the Philippines who new her stuff at/after 8:00pm last night! I had to use it for work today so I didn't think I'd make it!
Ok, I live outside Beechworth where the Optus network will not register unless i run the 900MHz antenna on the roof.
Enter Aldi mobile! Iphone on the coffee table, one bar under full reception!
Happy Al.
tonyd said
09:06 AM Mar 8, 2013
The GN spirit lives! I have an offer from Victoria to post me an Aldi sim card. Many thanks for the PM.
http://aldimobile.com.au/
Aldi are taking to the Pre-Paid mobile market too, using Telstra Wholesale (same as Kogan, and same coverage as Kogan)
Prices are not as attractive as Kogan, but the PAYG deals might be more attractive to those whom want 12 months access and dont use much data.
Romour has it that Australia Post will have a Pre-Paid SIM available by mid year also. So lots of choice these days
I might be interested in that. They are using Telstra 3G I understand from the news on TV. Would halve my mobile phone account.
I have stated that it uses Telstra Wholesale, which is not the Full Telstra NextG Network (or whatever they call it just to be different from everyone else), but it is close enough for most people (unless you move around the NW of WA). You really have to do your homework, but a quick look at the maps will show, you're not missing much!
Yes the data rate is capped at 7.2Mb/s, but show me a Telstra customer that gets more anyway! My GF is on Telstra 4G and lives in a 4G area and i get better speeds on my Optus handset half the time, which is the older 3G.
Boost does use the entire Telstra network including 4G, but it comes at a price compared to these alternatives.... But may be worth a look if you need the full Telstra experience.
So far, Kogan is offering deals that are miles in front of anyone else.
If you are a very light user, then Aldi might have something for you.
Their $15 for 365 days, is great for sim based Alarms, Telemetics or anything that only needs 1mb a day or those that just receive calls and wish to be on a good network all year.
Your link wouldn't work for me, not sure why, just comes up 404 page error. Says the page has been removed or permantly deleted. Wonder why???
Everyone i know whom is using the new Kogan is super happy, this Aldi deal will be the same footprint, just different pricing structure.
Oh and what you say about needing an UNLOCKED phone isnt correct, the Kogan and Aldi SIM will work in any Telstra locked handset, as it uses the same APN.
Infact, you can use either of the known Telstra APNs, both work the same as far as i've found.
Which is great, as you can buy one of these discount SIM deals and slap it in your Telstra Branded anything!!! Iphone, Ipad, MiFi unit, Modem, whatever......
NO need to Unlock it or make any changes....
The only time it will be an issue is if you have a Optus/Virgin/Vodafone Locked device.... But i doubt many Travellers use those providers for the obvious reasons.
Its only win win for use as users, more choice..... more options.... more competion!
-- Edited by SaltyDog on Saturday 2nd of March 2013 11:27:21 AM
Be careful .. Just because they use 'Telstra 3G' that doesn't necessarily mean that they have access to all of the 3G network or the down & up speed is the 3G maximum.
Make sure that your (unlocked of course) handset is fully compatable with 3G frequencies.
I am informed that 'Boost' is worth looking at if you are interested in coverage & speed.
Have a look at http://www.zdnet.com/au/
My comments were merely aimed at highlighting that as with most things and certainly communications, it is difficult to do comparisons. I have no opinion/preference re the relative merits of any of the offerings.
The comment about "locked" devices may apply to those contemplating moving from non Telstra suppliers or resellers, as may be the issue of handset frequency compatability & I intended to point out that those contemplating changing should do their homework carefully before commiting their hard earned.
re the link .. maybe I should have inserted ZD Net Home Page ... you can use the link provided to navigate to the home page & then search for Boost Prepaid article. I'll try again.
Boost's Telstra prepaid offering gets full 3G | ZDNet
ps. The page that was pulled down may have been another one that I was looking at which related to NBN fibre to the premises v Fibre to the node as seems to be the Turnbul plan. It got into an aminated & personal discussion between the Journalist & a contributor .. Just a thought & I may be wrong.
The best/easiest homework you could do is get the Kogan sim for $5 and give it a trial.
Al.
Exactly.... which myself a many others have done.
For Covarege its fine (same as Telstra on the east coast)
For Data Speed, its also fine, being faster than all over options and on par with Telstra or slightly less, but nothing anyone could really care about.
For Congestion, now there is an interesting point, i have had a poor result here, but generally its fine.
For Ping times, its great, better than other 3G options.
Interesting developments in mobile providers. The Aldi 365-day plan looks good for those like me who want to make the occasional call but not worry about topping up every 30 days.
The only trouble is that we poor, deprived West Aussies don't have Aldi. If the Sims prove not to be available by mail from Aldi, are there any regular GN Aldi customers who might be prepared to buy a Sim and post it westwards? All costs more than covered, of course.
Cheers, Tony
Hi Tony, if you have a Telstra prepaid, you can put your top up for 12 months, there is a minimum top up for that ($100 I think) but then you can top it up during that time with lesser amounts before 12 months expiry. I had to ring them to get the 12 months prepaid date as I don't make many calls and prefer the longer period so I dont have to worry about it. I still get them sending me top up offers, eg; put $30 bucks on before ........and get so many free text messages etc.
maybe something is telling us not to get one
what a pitty
John
Since 10:00am I have been waiting for the sim to activate even though for hours it has said online that it is ready to use. It would be a busy day for Aldimobile I'd say, so whether this has anything to do with it!
Al.
Grrrr, haha! All well now though thanks to a little lady in the Philippines who new her stuff at/after 8:00pm last night! I had to use it for work today so I didn't think I'd make it!
Ok, I live outside Beechworth where the Optus network will not register unless i run the 900MHz antenna on the roof.
Enter Aldi mobile! Iphone on the coffee table, one bar under full reception!
Happy Al.
The GN spirit lives! I have an offer from Victoria to post me an Aldi sim card. Many thanks for the PM.
Cheers, Tony