Hello out there al you lucky travelers would like to hear if anyone out there are using a kogan sim only plan and have they had any reception problems in the outback we are looking to start travelling mid next year
The provider Boost, has the same reception as Telstra both 4g and3g. It operates in the entire Telstra network but at just a slower speed which keeps Telstra on top of the pile of the Telcos. It works everywhere that Telstra does unlike Aldi and some others whereby Telstra stop Aldi and some others from working in varying areas. A lot of areas where the others drop off are quite often through various mining areas.
Even the much recommended Telstra does not work in the outback areas of Australia so for those areas you may consider a satellite phone.
We have used Boost and Telstra side by side for twelve months as sim only services for phone and data and as far as reception is concerned their is no difference travelling up the centre, acrosss he top into Qld to the coast and returning back to SA via the outback areas of Longreach Charleville Cunnamulla and into western NSW. I have met other Boost users on the way and they claim that they had no problems in WA with the service but none had done the side by side comparison as I have done.
There was a member on here who had owned and operated a transport company and her company compared Telstra and Boost with phone services for most areas of Australia with similar results to my findings. I have not seen her on here recently, I think some comments made on here upset her.
There have been many topics on here regarding Telcos and many are happy with Aldi as I am with Boost. By using sim only plans it is very easy to compare the different Telcos without any real expense. Do a search for Boost or similar and a lot will come up including service area maps that DO NOT compare apples with apples so take some of that info with a grain of salt.
I would not personally go Kogan as is stated above, they do not use the Telstra network.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Thursday 1st of November 2018 03:16:35 PM
__________________
"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
I have Kogan and yes it runs on the Vodaphone network. Its great for at home around Melbourne but its fairly useless as soon as you travel at all away from the east coast. My husband's phone is with Telstra, gets far far superior coverage when travelling. But of course his costs about 3 times a month what mine does, which is why we only have 1 Telstra.
if you have an 'unlocked' phone you can use either sim card. Generally we use Aldi but at times in out back QLD had to resort to putting the Telstra sim in the dongle for data access - especially when using 'facetime' to talk to the grandies.
-- Edited by villatranquilla on Thursday 1st of November 2018 05:52:44 PM
__________________
Jenny and Barry
2009 Roma Elegance / 2013 Colorado. Permanent travellers 2011-2015 now just travel for 4-6 mths
If you are going seriously off-road then don't even consider a mobile phone as a reliable means of communication. In any event Vodafone is, without question, the carrier with the least coverage outside cities. Telstra is really the only option.
If you think you may need comms outside mobile range - and a lot of Oz *is* outside mobile range - then satellite phone or HF are both viable options. Depending on your specific needs a Spot Messenger or Personal Locator Beacon (PLB or EPIRB) may be effective.
Come back to us with more details and we'll advise further.
__________________
"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"
Oliver Cromwell, 3rd August 1650 - in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland
I was in business for 30 odd years and needed reliable reception , Telstra was the only reliable one outside of the city but even that had its limits , we recently purchased a sat phone , sure its expensive , but but its peace of mind , we wont ring on it unless absolutely necessary , my wifes mum is 93 and she wants to be able to check on her every few days for a quick hello , plus its gonna come in handy it we get stuck out in the middle of an area with little or know reception.
