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VPNs for ad-blocking But over the last decade, the gap between Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone’s coverage has narrowed significantly. Now, more than ever, Australians that once had Buckley’s chance of receiving a signal with smaller, more affordable networks might find Optus and Vodafone a reliable alternative. Then there are the MVNOs and their coverage. If you find that you do need access to the Telstra network, you could easily find yourself a viable budget alternative with one of the many providers that use Telstra’s wholesale network, such as ALDI Mobile and Woolworths Mobile, which covers around 98.8% of the population. There are a few steps you can (and should) take before committing to a new network if you’re struggling to get coverage or merely looking to switch to a more affordable provider. To make finding your answer to this question easier, here’s a quick round-up of the big three telcos’ most popular SIM plans. It should help give you an idea of how much going with a given network will cost and the call and data inclusions that going with either Telstra, Vodafone or Optus will get you. Still stumped? Be sure to read on for more specifics on each provider’s network and coverage. Before you do, it’s worth checking the map below to find out whether Telstra offers sufficient coverage in your area. Our map also includes Telstra 5G coverage, which now covers over 80% of the population. Here’s a quick look at all of Boost Mobile’s prepaid plans. If the handset you’re using is a little dated, you might not be able to take advantage of the latest wireless technology. That’s why Telstra operates its Blue Tick program, a certification process that highlights handsets that will work best in a rural setting. Take a look at some of the best Blue Tick Phones available. Optus claims it covers 98.5% of populated Australia. Compared with Telstra’s 99.5% coverage, that might not seem like much of a difference. But if we apply those percentages to Australia’s total population, the gap starts to look more pronounced. Theoretically speaking, the Optus network reaches 256,900 less people than Telstra. Thankfully, there’s no need for guesswork when you can search your area in the Optus coverage map above. Take a look and see if your hometown has significant Optus 4G coverage (or even Optus 5G coverage, if you’re lucky) with the provider. Because of this, there’s no reason not to compare plans between the two. Best case scenario: It might save you a chunk of change. The only thing you don’t get access to with Optus MVNOs are perks like a discounted rate on Optus Sport or the ability to bundle in a new phone. If you’re eyeing up an MVNO like Amaysim then it might be worth asking how valuable these inclusions really are. To give you a sense of the market, here are the most popular plans with other providers on the Optus network with 10GB of data or more. It’s no secret that Vodafone’s network footprint pales in comparison to Telstra and Optus. But truth be told, the overwhelming majority of Australians can still get a reliable signal on Vodafone nowadays. The same goes for Vodafone’s various MVNOs (TPG, Kogan Mobile, etc.). Like Optus, the coverage of Vodafone’s MVNOs is the identical to that of its 4G network. If you’re still worried about whether Vodafone can service your area, then here’s what you do. Take a look at your stomping ground in the coverage map below. If your address (and the places you regularly visit) are covered in purple, you should be good to go. There are still other factors that might impact your signal, but the map above is a reliable indication of Vodafone coverage in Australia. You can also check if your area is one of the few with Vodafone 5G coverage by checking the 5G box. In the meantime, here’s a healthy mix of prepaid and SIM-only deals from other providers on the Vodafone Mobile network. While Telstra has been loud and proud about achieving a 5G footprint that covers 80% of Australia’s population, both Optus and Vodafone have yet to put a number on the size of their respective efforts. That alone can suggest something about where Telstra sits relative to the rest of the big three, but without any actual numbers to compare it is difficult to come to the same sort of big picture conclusions about network coverage like the ones above. Even if we had access to such clean numbers, they rarely tell the whole story. At the end of the day, whether a given provider has the best possible coverage might not matter as much as whether your mobile network covers the specific places that you might want 5G connectivity. To help with that, we’ve embedded a map widget that allows you to get a closer look at what areas are covered by each of Australia’s big three 5G networks. Click the big orange button, select your desired network provider from the dropdown (e.g. Telstra, Optus or Vodafone). To find out if you have 5G coverage in your area, use the (+) and (-) icons in the top-left corner of the map to navigate to your area. For example, if you want to search for 5G coverage in Sydney, zoom right in and drag the map with your cursor to zero in on your address. That said, you might not be getting access to the entirety of a given network depending on your plan or provider. For example, Telstra MVNOs like ALDI Mobile covers 98.8% of populated Australian areas while Telstra (and Boost) coverage accounts for 99.5% of populated areas. When it comes to coverage, it pays to do your research and double-check the details. The first is by speed. In Australia, 5G mobile connection speeds can as high as 1Gbps. Testing done by WhistleOut found that both the Telstra and Optus 5G mobile networks offered average speeds of around 500Mbps. On the other hand, Vodafone came in at around half of what its competitors can muster with around 250mbps. The other vector that might be used to judge 5G networks is size. When it comes to coverage, Telstra’s first-mover advantage puts it ahead of the other options. At the time of writing, Telstra’s 5G network is said to cover around 80% of the Australian population. For comparison, Vodafone says that its 5G network is available in over 1000 suburbs but neither it nor Optus have been bold enough to put a percentage to its claims as of yet.
TelstraALDI MobileBelong (Telstra sub-brand)Better Life MobileCMobile BlueLycamobileMateNumobilePennytelTangerine TelecomTelechoiceThink MobileWoolworths Mobile
OptusAmaysim (acquired by Optus)Aussie BroadbandCatch ConnectCircles.LifeColes MobileDodo (owned by Vocus Group)ExetelGomo (Optus sub-brand)iPrimus (owned by Vocus Group)Moose MobileSouthern PhoneSpintelVaya (acquired by Amaysim/Optus)
VodafoneCMobile RedFelix Mobile (TPG Telecom sub-brand)Kogan MobileiiNet (acquired by TPG Telecom)Internode (acquired by TPG Telecom)Lebara Mobile (acquired by Vodafone/TPG telecom)TPG (merged with Vodafone)
