The Vodafone mobile network will cover 98.4% of the Australian population from January 30, up from the current 95.4% its currently spans. In real-world terms, the network will grow from around 400,000 square kilometres to over 1,000,000 square kilometres.
This expansion is thanks to the network-sharing agreement Vodafone parent company TPG Telecom signed with Optus last year. Customers on the Vodafone network - which includes those on MVNOs such as TPG, iiNet, felix, Lebara, Kogan, and LycaMobile - will gain access to Optus' network in rural and regional areas.
This will bring the Vodafone mobile network's coverage to just 0.1% below the 98.5% Optus claims. This is because each provider will still maintain its own network in metro areas.
For comparison, Telstra's mobile network now reaches 99.7% of the population, but coverage for providers on its wholesale network - used by providers such as Belong, ALDI Mobile, and Superloop - is slightly smaller at 98.8%.
As part of the agreement, Optus will get access to TPG's mobile spectrum in regional Australia, which will result in extra network capacity and faster speeds. Customers on both the Optus mobile network and the Vodafone mobile network will benefit from this.
Customers on the Vodafone network won't have to do anything to take advantage of the coverage after it goes live on January 30. Devices will simply connect in places where they previously didn't.
This means Vodafone network providers will become a viable option for customers in some regional and rural areas where it currently has no service. Vodafone network plans tend to be cheaper than those available on the Telstra and Optus networks.
These are the cheapest mobile plans on the Vodafone network:
And here the cheapest plans on the Optus network:
Vodafone says it won't increase mobile plan pricing because of the network-sharing agreement.
These are the most popular NBN 50 plans with WhistleOut users this week:
Alex Choros
Related Articles
