New telco Konec Mobile launches with cheap plans and OPPO phone bundles

A new challenger has entered Australia’s already-competitive mobile space, offering a small suite of online-only prepaid plans as well as phone-and-plan bundles. Konec Mobile is a new SIM-only service that claims to tick three key boxes for Aussie mobile users: value, coverage, and convenience.

Launched this week, Konec Mobile hits the market at a time when the increased cost of living means many households will be looking to tighten their budgets and cut down on monthly expenses. The new provider will offer four SIM-only prepaid plans out of the gate, all priced at $35 or less every 30 days.

Customers will have the choice between two 30-day plans, one 90-day option, and a 365-day long expiry plan. Konec is also celebrating its launch by offering customers a phone and plan bundle, which will include the newly-released OPPO A57s and a Konec Mobile $25 Essential SIM and plan.

Konec Mobile: plans and features

Konec Mobile is looking to snatch up value-conscious customers with its prepaid plan range. All plans are BYO phone (with the exception of its OPPO phone-and-plan bundle), include no lock-in contracts or setup fees, and can be self-managed online or through the Konec Mobile app.

All plans include a data allowance, plus unlimited standard national talk and text in Australia. Customers can also add on an international calling pack for $5 at any time, which gives you 120 minutes of overseas calls to 42 selected locations to use within 30 days.

Konec is offering plenty of data benefits to customers, including the option to roll over any unused gigabytes when you recharge your plan (provided you’ve recharged within 24 hours of your plan expiry, and not to a lower value plan). There’s no expiry on banked data as long you keep recharging, but limits do apply: the Starter 90 plan has a maximum data bank of 100GB, while Essential, Everyday and Long Life 365 plans each have a data bank limit of 500GB.

Customers can also buy an extra 3GB of data for $15 at any time as needed, and Konec Mobile will also allow users to gift unwanted data to other active customers in increments of 1GB.

As for coverage, Konec Mobile states it operates on ‘Australia’s largest network’, meaning the brand is a Telstra MVNO. This is good news for customers in regional areas, as Konec will offer access to most of Telstra’s 3G and 4G coverage nationwide, just at a lower price. However, 5G isn’t yet available, and you won’t quite get the 100% coverage you’d experience on a Telstra plan – so although Konec’s service will cover over 98.8% of Aussies, customers can check the telco’s coverage maps before jumping on board.

Konec Mobile launch special: OPPO A57s with plan for just $199

Konec Mobile’s phone bundle is priced at $199, and includes the OPPO A57s and the Konec Mobile Essential SIM plan. With a $349 AUD retail price, the OPPO A57s is a big-battery, bright-screen phone with dual rear AI cameras, loud ultra-linear stereo speakers, and a stylish, shimmering Glow Design body. Pick it up as part of Konec Mobile’s phone bundle, and you’ll get $374 of value for $199 – a saving of $175 over buying the same phone and plan separately.

Here’s a quick look at the OPPO A57s’s specs and features.

• $349 AUD RRP
• Octa-core processor and MediaTek Helio G35 GPU
• 6.56-inch Colour-Rich display
• 60Hz refresh rate
• Dual rear-camera setup (50-megapixel main + 2-megapixel mono)
• 8-megapixel front-facing camera
• 5,000mAh battery
• SUPERVOOC 33W fast charging
• ColorOS 12.1 operating system
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB internal storage
• Fingerprint and facial recognition unlocking
• Starry Black and Sky Blue colours with Glow Design

The Konec Mobile bundle is available now through Konec’s online store, and through Big W, with both Sky Blue (right) and Starry Black colours on offer. Konec says that the partnership with OPPO is just the start of the special offers and products that will be available to customers going forward.

“This bundle with the OPPO A57s will be the first in a series of products being bundled with Konec,” said Jack Chang, Konec Mobile’s General Manager.

“Big W was our partner of choice as we see great synergy with their customer base. The launch bundle is perfect for anyone wanting great value and a quality device without the exorbitant price tag.

“We’re also in talks with different partners — both hardware and service providers — and we hope to introduce many more bundles that will bring added value to customers.”

How does Konec Mobile compare?

The low-cost telco space is already jam-packed, but that doesn’t mean that Konec Mobile won’t be an attractive choice for customers looking for a convenient phone-and-plan bundle, or for a SIM plan with plenty of data options. Data banking and rollover is a great feature for customers with varying data needs,  and add-ons like international calls and extra data make plan customisation easy.

Konec Mobile does seem to be aimed at users who like to manage and change their mobile plan without the hassle of calling customer support, but a service number is available if you get stuck. It’s a similar self-service outlook as online-only telcos Felix Mobile, Gomo and Circles.Life, meaning it’s not the best choice for customers who need hands-on help with their plan or devices.

In terms of other small providers using the Telstra network, Konec offers similar prices and inclusions to prepaid telcos ALDI Mobile, TeleChoice and Exetel, and to postpaid plans from Woolworths Mobile and Belong. You’ll get the same level of 3G and 4G coverage as the aforementioned brands, but Konec Mobile isn’t yet offering 5G-ready service (a feature that is now available from Woolworths Mobile and ALDI Mobile on selected plans).

To see how Konec Mobile’s plans rate, you can compare prepaid and postpaid SIM plans below.

Images: Konec Mobile & OPPO