Mobile operators have been getting more on-board with 5G lately, and the fairly recent player of Konec is hoping getting the price down brings people over.
The high-speed connection that is 5G may well be in a lot of devices and found across Australia, but it’s also not always that cheap.
In fact, with recent increases to mobile plans reportedly in line with Consumer Price Index changes, something that seems to happen at least once a year, paying for faster speeds can end up costing you more.
But not everyone is doing that, it seems.
Last year’s addition to the operator scene, Konec, has recently added 5G for as low as $35, though it does seem to come with a catch of sorts.
The addition of 5G to Konec’s $35 prepaid plan means 5G is technically within reach of more people, bringing 42GB every 30 days prepaid for $35 and support for 4G and 5G.
Worth noting, though, is that 5G is only available on that plan for Konec. The telco’s other plans — the $25 30 day option, $60 90 day option, and the $259 365 day option, are all 4G only, and there may not be a staggering difference between speeds on either 4G or 5G.
Yes, that is the catch, because while some telcos are limiting 5G speeds to 250Mbps, Konec is limiting its 5G speeds to 100Mbps, which is also the same speed cap it applies to 4G on its plans, as well.
In short, Konec offers 5G, but you won’t see speed differences whether you use 5G or 4G.
Konec’s manager Jack Chang told Pickr that it strives “to offer our customers the best all round experience, balancing coverage, reliability, value and of course speed”, and that the current 5G plan “designed to provide significant download speeds up to 100Mbps at a price point Aussies can afford”.
“Our customers don’t have to pay a premium to access 5G, and can instead enjoy the best of both worlds – affordability and performance,” said Chang.
“That said, we’re continuously talking to our customers, and assessing their needs against our existing offering. In the future we may introduce even faster plans, but only if it meets our commitment to always ensure we are connecting people to what’s next in the cost-effective manner possible,” he said.
That means it could change in the future and potentially offer better speeds, because while 100Mbps is fast, it the sort of speed you can get from 4G, too, and may not make a difference to phone owners, at all.
