Telstra may well be the telco with the greatest reach in regional Australia, but Optus is getting bigger and now Vodafone is, too. What’s going on?
For the longest time, Aussies keen to get the best mobile connection outside of major cities on this large bit of land we call Australia have almost always had to turn to Telstra. The nation’s largest telco has also offered the country’s most sizeable mobile footprint, stretching into rural and regional locations, and not just focused in the cities where most of the population is.
Optus has been steadily pushing hard into regional Australia, too, but Vodafone hasn’t quite had that reach. Great for cities, less so out in the sticks.
The good news, however, is that looks set to change thanks to an agreement between Vodafone and Optus approved this week by the ACCC.
Officially Vodafone will be able to expand its network access footprint in 2025 as it connects with Optus, thanks to a regional network sharing deal that will increase the size of Vodafone’s 400,000 square kilometre coverage to around one million.
“This will be a game-changer for the millions of Australians in our cities and regions who want great value and mobile coverage when travelling to all the places we love to visit,” said Kieren Cooney, Group Executive for Consumer at Vodafone.
“With this network expansion we will break the mobile duopoly that has limited customer choice in regional Australia for too long,” he said. “We’ve listened to our customers and are excited to say Vodafone’s coming to town.”
The agreement means Optus will be sharing its access with TPG Telecom, which owns Vodafone, and will see both Optus and Vodafone take advantage of improvements to high-speed mobile, particularly as more 5G sites are rolled out across the country.
According to Optus, plans to increase 5G’s reach includes 1500 5G transmitter locations by the end of 2028, and as many as 2444 two years later by the end of 2030.
It also sends a message that Telstra isn’t the only place this access will be made available, essentially opening up regional mobile access following the 3G shutdown at the end of October.
“By sharing our infrastructure and technology, Optus and TPG will be able to deliver even more choice and better services for regional customers,” said Michael Venter, Interim CEO at Optus.
“This arrangement will allow Optus to press the fast forward button on 5G infrastructure roll-out to more regional communities. It will also provide Optus with access to more spectrum so regional customers can experience 5G’s fast speeds, low latency, and increased capacity,” he said.
The agreement will kick in from early next year, with both Optus and Vodafone customers able to benefit from the access in 2025.
