Kogan Mobile announces 4G service will be switched on for customers by June

After the demise of their first foray into the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) space, Kogan Mobile eventually re-launched the service in October last year as a 3G service using the Vodafone network. Today, Kogan is announcing they are bringing 4G connectivity to their customers, with 4G service expected to be active by June.

Kogan has announced that the 4G service will simply be added to existing customers services with no additional charges. New customers will also be able to sign up for plans with no additional charge, just delicious 4G speeds.

David Shafer, Executive Director of Kogan.com acknowledged the necessity of 4G which he says will improve the value for Kogan Mobile customers.

Kogan Mobile has become so popular because of its great value. But, we know Aussies want fast mobile speeds. Enabling 4G is part of our plan to continuously improve the value consumers receive from Kogan Mobile. No matter how you use your phone, Kogan Mobile has a deal for everyone — and now our low prices come with access to blistering fast 4G data speeds.

Kogan Mobile’s service is run on Vodafone infrastructure which offers 4G services on both the Band 5 (850MHz) as well as Band 3 (1800MHz) networks in Australia, so if you’re a Kogan Mobile customer you will need to either have a phone that supports those bands. However Kogan offers a number of phones, including their recently announced Kogan Agora 6, which operate on compatible 4G bands.

Since the dark ‘Vodafail’ days in the mid-2000s, Vodafone has spent billions of dollars improving their network to cover the majority of the Australian population. Vodafone recently announced the completion of a project that now offers Vodafone service using the re-farmed 850MHz network to more than 95 per cent of the Australian population.

The Kogan Mobile coverage map currently only shows the 3G service areas, but should soon show the 4G coverage.

Vodafone too is working on fixing so-called ‘Blackspots’ in the network, building 70 base stations in regional areas of NSW, Victoria, Queensland, and WA. If your Vodafone signal was previously not optimal, it should be improving, though reports of black spots continue so there’s still work to be done.

Also about to arrive on Vodafone is the much vaunted VoLTE service, allowing the delivery of Voice over LTE, though whether Kogan will be offering this service to their customers hasn’t been announced.

Both Aldi and Woolworths Mobile – both of whom use the Telstra wholesale network, recently began offering their customers 4G service, which goes a long way to explain why Kogan is now offering the service. Nevertheless, extra quality service for no additional cost is nothing to be sneezed at.

If you’re a Kogan Mobile customer, you should ensure your phone is set to receive 4G services by going to Settings > More > Mobile Networks > ‘Preferred Network Type’ and selecting 4G.