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- Oct 31, 2010
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Just in from Kogan:
[h=1]Kogan Mobile Announcement[/h]
19 August 2013
Dear Kogan Mobile Customers,
Important update concerning the continuity of your Kogan Mobile Service
As a challenger brand, we’re used to being up against some of the biggest companies in the world to get the best deal for our customers. We’ve successfully disrupted entire industries, with our low margin, high volume technology business.
While the launch of Kogan Mobile was a success for consumers, securing a great deal on mobile access at an unbeatable price, not everyone in the industry was happy about it.
We have fought hard for the Australian consumer, spending countless hours and millions of dollars in legal and administrative costs to defend your right to a fair deal! Our intention from day one was to build a long-term, sustainable, and value-based alternative to the big telcos. We believe technology makes the world a better place, which is why we have fought hard for better value mobile deals for everyone in Australia. The endless negotiations, and even the occasional visit to the Supreme Court to protect your interests and ensure that you continue to get the best deal have worked, until today.
There are forces at play in the Australian telecommunications market that are beyond our control, very powerful, and impossible to ignore. When over 100,000 people took their services to Kogan Mobile, in such a short space of time, it attracted a lot of attention. Unfortunately and frustratingly, it appears like the telco heavyweights may be determined to take their former customers back and they may be prepared to do so by force.
We believe that fair and open competition is great for consumers, but unfortunately that competition is being forcefully limited today.
In our email last week, we advised that Kogan Mobile had recently become aware of the following -
Kogan Mobile has tried to do everything it can to protect its customers. However, contrary to our numerous and concerted efforts to persuade Telstra to maintain and support Kogan Mobile's arrangements with Telstra's sole distributor, ispONE, Telstra has advised that it will terminate the 3G Prepaid Mobile services to Kogan Mobile. This will impact the continuity of your service, and those of other Kogan Mobile customers. While the timing and nature of the transition arrangements are dictated by Telstra, Kogan Mobile has negotiated the optimal arrangements that Telstra would allow.
While this matter is entirely out of the control of Kogan Mobile, we nevertheless sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these transition arrangements may cause to you. Importantly, Kogan Mobile customers who have remaining credit at the time their services are terminated by Telstra will have their entire remaining balance refunded to them by Kogan Mobile. The refund amount shall be calculated as the pro-rata amount remaining on the date of deactivation of service.
[h=3]We’re Devastated[/h]We are extremely upset to have to bring you this news. We set out with the aim to make mobile services in Australia more affordable for all, and were well on the way to achieving this goal. The migration to Kogan Mobile was one of the biggest in Australian telecommunication history. As we lowered the prices for services, we were happy and so were our customers - but not everybody in the industry was pleased with what we were doing.
As you may have seen recently, many companies have fallen out of the prepaid unlimited market. We’re afraid that due to certain industry dynamics, this is a sign of things to come. We’re concerned that it won’t be long before your choice as a consumer is eroded almost completely. We worry that the big telcos in Australia will continue their consolidation of power. Inevitably, this will mean higher prices. We’re not happy about this but at this stage it’s not something we can do anything about. Kogan Mobile has been muscled out of the mobile industry against our will by a force much bigger and much stronger than us.
[h=3]What will happen to my mobile number?[/h]Don’t worry, your number is safe! Your mobile number will stay active for 180 days from today. You will be able to transfer (port) your phone number to another provider at any time for the next 180 days.
[h=3]What does this mean?[/h]Based on information provided to us by Telstra, we understand that the following will be the transition arrangements that Telstra will enforce -
As a consequence of Telstra’s termination of the 3G Prepaid Mobile services, the Kogan Mobile customer service team is likely to be inundated with calls and emails, and is likely to take longer than normal to respond. We will provide further email updates to answer your most common questions, and will provide you with further information as it comes to hand.
If you have an urgent enquiry, please email [email protected] and we will respond as quickly as we can.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
For ease of reference, this is a copy of the email we sent you on Tuesday 13th August:
Thank you for joining us on the journey to make mobile access in Australia more affordable. We entered the mobile industry in order to increase competition and give consumers more choice and better value. Since starting Kogan Mobile, we are proud to now serve more than 115,000 active customers.
We have fought hard for the Australian consumer – there have been endless negotiations and even the occasional visit to the Supreme Court to protect our customers’ interests and ensure that our customers continue to get the best deals. However, there are forces at play in the Australian telecommunications market that are beyond our control, very powerful and impossible to ignore.
You may be aware that we procure our mobile services for part of the Telstra 3G Network through Telstra’s sole and approved distributor – ispONE. ispONE is the only company in Australia that wholesales Telstra’s Prepaid 3G Services and is essential to the operation of our and any business through that network. Telstra’s Prepaid 3G Network is not integrated with any other wholesale platform, other than ispONE’s.
Since day one, Kogan Mobile has complied with all its obligations to its service providers. We keep our agreements. We have paid every invoice on time or early. Like our customers, we expect our service providers to deliver what they have been paid for.
Kogan Mobile has recently become aware of the following -
We are monitoring these developments closely, as they may affect the continuity of our prepaid mobile services. We will provide a further update when further information comes to hand.
You may also wish to contact Telstra directly and ask Telstra what it intends to do in respect of its wholesale prepaid mobile business and customers’ mobile telephone services if it achieves its goal of terminating its contractual arrangements with ispONE.
Kindest regards,
Kogan Mobile
[h=1]Kogan Mobile Announcement[/h]
19 August 2013
Dear Kogan Mobile Customers,
Important update concerning the continuity of your Kogan Mobile Service
As a challenger brand, we’re used to being up against some of the biggest companies in the world to get the best deal for our customers. We’ve successfully disrupted entire industries, with our low margin, high volume technology business.
While the launch of Kogan Mobile was a success for consumers, securing a great deal on mobile access at an unbeatable price, not everyone in the industry was happy about it.
We have fought hard for the Australian consumer, spending countless hours and millions of dollars in legal and administrative costs to defend your right to a fair deal! Our intention from day one was to build a long-term, sustainable, and value-based alternative to the big telcos. We believe technology makes the world a better place, which is why we have fought hard for better value mobile deals for everyone in Australia. The endless negotiations, and even the occasional visit to the Supreme Court to protect your interests and ensure that you continue to get the best deal have worked, until today.
There are forces at play in the Australian telecommunications market that are beyond our control, very powerful, and impossible to ignore. When over 100,000 people took their services to Kogan Mobile, in such a short space of time, it attracted a lot of attention. Unfortunately and frustratingly, it appears like the telco heavyweights may be determined to take their former customers back and they may be prepared to do so by force.
We believe that fair and open competition is great for consumers, but unfortunately that competition is being forcefully limited today.
In our email last week, we advised that Kogan Mobile had recently become aware of the following -
- Telstra is in dispute with ispONE, Telstra’s sole distributor of prepaid 3G mobile services and Kogan Mobile’s essential supplier
- Telstra had taken steps to terminate its contract with ispONE. If Telstra terminates its contract with ispONE, this would be very likely to impact Kogan Mobile’s own customers’ services (through no fault of Kogan Mobile)
- ispONE had commenced proceedings against Telstra in the Federal Court and obtained a short term injunction to restrain Telstra from terminating its contract with ispONE
- The Federal Court ordered Telstra and ispONE to attend mediation. Although not party to the Federal Court proceedings, Kogan Mobile was permitted to (and did) attend the mediation
Kogan Mobile has tried to do everything it can to protect its customers. However, contrary to our numerous and concerted efforts to persuade Telstra to maintain and support Kogan Mobile's arrangements with Telstra's sole distributor, ispONE, Telstra has advised that it will terminate the 3G Prepaid Mobile services to Kogan Mobile. This will impact the continuity of your service, and those of other Kogan Mobile customers. While the timing and nature of the transition arrangements are dictated by Telstra, Kogan Mobile has negotiated the optimal arrangements that Telstra would allow.
While this matter is entirely out of the control of Kogan Mobile, we nevertheless sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that these transition arrangements may cause to you. Importantly, Kogan Mobile customers who have remaining credit at the time their services are terminated by Telstra will have their entire remaining balance refunded to them by Kogan Mobile. The refund amount shall be calculated as the pro-rata amount remaining on the date of deactivation of service.
[h=3]We’re Devastated[/h]We are extremely upset to have to bring you this news. We set out with the aim to make mobile services in Australia more affordable for all, and were well on the way to achieving this goal. The migration to Kogan Mobile was one of the biggest in Australian telecommunication history. As we lowered the prices for services, we were happy and so were our customers - but not everybody in the industry was pleased with what we were doing.
As you may have seen recently, many companies have fallen out of the prepaid unlimited market. We’re afraid that due to certain industry dynamics, this is a sign of things to come. We’re concerned that it won’t be long before your choice as a consumer is eroded almost completely. We worry that the big telcos in Australia will continue their consolidation of power. Inevitably, this will mean higher prices. We’re not happy about this but at this stage it’s not something we can do anything about. Kogan Mobile has been muscled out of the mobile industry against our will by a force much bigger and much stronger than us.
[h=3]What will happen to my mobile number?[/h]Don’t worry, your number is safe! Your mobile number will stay active for 180 days from today. You will be able to transfer (port) your phone number to another provider at any time for the next 180 days.
[h=3]What does this mean?[/h]Based on information provided to us by Telstra, we understand that the following will be the transition arrangements that Telstra will enforce -
- Within the next 24 hours, Kogan Mobile customers will be unable to activate new services, or recharge existing services
- In the coming weeks, you can expect to receive an SMS from Telstra advising you that your service will cease within a limited period (up to 60 days), but not before you receive a second SMS advising that there are 7 days to change (port) your number to an alternate provider
- During this period, you will be able to use your existing service and consume your existing credit
- Telstra will then send a second SMS at some stage during the 60 day transition period, which will advise that there are 20 minutes of calls and 20 SMS remaining credit available for use within 7 days to Australian numbers, while data services, international calls, international SMS and MMS will be excluded. You will continue to be able to retrieve your voicemail messages during this 7 Day Plan and for up to 10 days afterwards.
- For 180 days from today, customers will still be able to receive calls, receive SMS and transfer (port) their mobile numbers and make emergency calls at any time for 6 months thereafter. If your service has not ported out after the 6 month period, the service will be cancelled by Telstra
- Kogan Mobile recommends that, upon receiving the second SMS from Telstra, you take action to transfer (port) your mobile number to another provider, or otherwise make arrangements for continuity of your mobile service. We also encourage customers to plan ahead for receipt of the second SMS from Telstra by acquiring a new SIM card from another provider as soon as possible.
- On behalf of our customers, we are currently seeking to negotiate some deals with several leading mobile phone providers. We will keep you informed about any special offers we manage to negotiate on your behalf and which you may wish to take up.
As a consequence of Telstra’s termination of the 3G Prepaid Mobile services, the Kogan Mobile customer service team is likely to be inundated with calls and emails, and is likely to take longer than normal to respond. We will provide further email updates to answer your most common questions, and will provide you with further information as it comes to hand.
If you have an urgent enquiry, please email [email protected] and we will respond as quickly as we can.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
For ease of reference, this is a copy of the email we sent you on Tuesday 13th August:
Thank you for joining us on the journey to make mobile access in Australia more affordable. We entered the mobile industry in order to increase competition and give consumers more choice and better value. Since starting Kogan Mobile, we are proud to now serve more than 115,000 active customers.
We have fought hard for the Australian consumer – there have been endless negotiations and even the occasional visit to the Supreme Court to protect our customers’ interests and ensure that our customers continue to get the best deals. However, there are forces at play in the Australian telecommunications market that are beyond our control, very powerful and impossible to ignore.
You may be aware that we procure our mobile services for part of the Telstra 3G Network through Telstra’s sole and approved distributor – ispONE. ispONE is the only company in Australia that wholesales Telstra’s Prepaid 3G Services and is essential to the operation of our and any business through that network. Telstra’s Prepaid 3G Network is not integrated with any other wholesale platform, other than ispONE’s.
Since day one, Kogan Mobile has complied with all its obligations to its service providers. We keep our agreements. We have paid every invoice on time or early. Like our customers, we expect our service providers to deliver what they have been paid for.
Kogan Mobile has recently become aware of the following -
- Telstra is in dispute with ispONE, Telstra’s sole distributor of prepaid 3G mobile services and Kogan Mobile’s essential supplier
- Telstra has taken steps to terminate its contract with ispONE. If Telstra terminates its contract with ispONE this is very likely to impact Kogan Mobile’s own customers’ services (through no fault of Kogan Mobile)
- ispONE has commenced proceedings against Telstra in the Federal Court and obtained a short term injunction to restrain Telstra from terminating its contract with ispONE
- The Federal Court ordered Telstra and ispONE to attend mediation. Although not party to the Federal Court proceedings, Kogan Mobile is permitted to (and will) attend the mediation
We are monitoring these developments closely, as they may affect the continuity of our prepaid mobile services. We will provide a further update when further information comes to hand.
You may also wish to contact Telstra directly and ask Telstra what it intends to do in respect of its wholesale prepaid mobile business and customers’ mobile telephone services if it achieves its goal of terminating its contractual arrangements with ispONE.
Kindest regards,
Kogan Mobile
