Australia
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Australia
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Optus wins the most awards in the report
With five outright and five joint wins in 14 categories, Optus leads the award counts in Australia. It is the sole winner of both video and download awards, along with 4G Games Experience, while also sharing the recognition for both Consistency awards.
Optus has the fastest download speeds in Australia
Our Optus users enjoy the fastest 4G download speeds in Australia, clocking in at 54.7Mbps — around 10% faster than those on Telstra’s network. Optus retains 5G Download Speed, with a score of 212.3Mbps, beating second-placed Telstra by 33Mbps.
Telstra remains strong for coverage awards
Telstra keeps both Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards in a firm grip, winning both awards outright for the fourth consecutive time. These results mean Telstra has the widest and largest footprint of geographical coverage in populated areas out of all mobile operators in Australia.
Optus and Vodafone are the first ever winners of Reliability Experience in Australia
In the first Australia Mobile Network Experience report where we introduce this metric, Optus and Vodafone jointly win Reliability Experience. They share the victory with statistically tied scores of 907-910 points on a 100-1000 point scale, around 33 points ahead of Telstra. Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.
Telstra achieves a clean sweep for Consistent Quality across Australian cities
Opensignal also includes scores for all three Australian national operators across seven major Australian cities. We’ve observed a fierce competition for city awards. Telstra collects the most of these, 24 outright and 24 jointly, ahead of Optus (20 sole and 27 shared wins) and Vodafone (21 sole and 24 shared wins). Vodafone wins all city awards outright for 4G Upload Speed and 5G Availability. Meanwhile, Telstra sweeps the board for Coverage Experience, 5G Coverage Experience and Consistent Quality.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Australia Mobile Network Experience report we introduce Reliability Experience, which measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.
Optus dominates the award table with five outright and five shared recognitions across the board, out of 14 categories. Vodafone ends with two sole and five shared wins, remaining strong for 5G Availability. Telstra firmly holds onto both Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards from the previous report.
Vodafone has announced that it has more than doubled its mobile coverage in the country, after signing a regional network-sharing deal with Optus. The contract gives Vodafone access to over two thousand Optus sites in regional Australia, expanding the geographical coverage to around one million square kilometres and population coverage to 98.4% of Australia’s population. Meanwhile, both Telstra and Optus have switched off their 3G networks — however, regional customers have complained about the lack of mobile signal in their areas following the 3G shutdowns.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Australia — Optus, Telstra and Vodafone — over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2025, and ending on March 31, 2025, to see how they fared. We also included scores for these operators across seven major Australian cities.
4G Experience
National Analysis
Optus comes first for 4G Video Experience with a score of 69.9 points on a 100-point scale — around three points ahead of statistically tied Telstra and Vodafone.
Optus rates as Very Good (68-78) for 4G video services, while Telstra and Vodafone place one category lower, in Good (58-68). A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling when connected to 4G.
4G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
4G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 4G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 4G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 4G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Optus triumphs for 4G Games Experience, with a score of 75.2 points on a 100-point scale. It commands a lead of around five points ahead of second-placed Telstra.
Optus places in the Good (75-85) category, while Telstra and Vodafone — one category lower, in Fair (65-75). A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem their 4G experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
4G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 4G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 4G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
4G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 4G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Our Optus users enjoy the fastest 4G download speeds in Australia, clocking in at 54.7Mbps — around 10% faster than those on Telstra’s network. This way, Optus earns the 4G Download Speed award.
Definitions
4G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 4G network. 4G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
Vodafone wins 4G Upload Speed with a score of 8.7Mbps. This means that our Vodafone users see 26% and 32% faster 4G upload speeds than those seen by those with second-placed Optus and third-placed Telstra, respectively.
Definitions
4G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 4G network. 4G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
City Analysis
City Analysis Summary: Australia, Mobile Network Experience Report, April 2025
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A-I
- Adelaide
- Brisbane
- Canberra–Queanbeyan
- Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
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J-R
- Melbourne
- Perth
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S-Z
- Sydney
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
5G Experience
National Analysis
Optus defends the 5G Video Experience award, winning it by a hair over second-placed Telstra, with a score of 75.5 points on a 100-point scale.
Regardless of their choice of an operator, our Australian users generally enjoy a Very Good (68-78) experience when using video services on 5G networks. This means that they are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Optus and Vodafone remain locked in a statistical tie for the 5G Games Experience award, with statistically tied scores of 83.5-84 points on a 100-point scale.
All operators place in the Good (75-85) category. This means that most users deem their 5G experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Optus retains the 5G Download Speed award, with a score of 212.3Mbps, beating second-placed Telstra by 33Mbps. While Vodafone's score has decreased by 5Mbps, since the previous report, other operators’ scores haven't changed significantly.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
The statistical tie between Optus and Vodafone continues, as both operators win 5G Upload Speed jointly with statistically tied scores of 13.5-13.7Mbps. Telstra is around 1Mbps behind the pair, with a score of 12.5Mbps.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
City Analysis
City Analysis Summary: Australia, Mobile Network Experience Report, April 2025
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A-I
- Adelaide
- Brisbane
- Canberra–Queanbeyan
- Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
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J-R
- Melbourne
- Perth
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S-Z
- Sydney
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
Coverage
National Analysis
Telstra confirms its supremacy for Coverage Experience, once again winning the award outright. This time it achieves a score of 9.6 points on a 10-point scale, around one point ahead of Optus. This score means Telstra has the widest and largest geographic footprint of coverage in populated areas out of all mobile operators in Australia.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
National Analysis
Once again Telstra wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright, this time around with a score of 7.4 points on a 10-point scale. Optus comes second, around three points behind the winner. These results reflect the footprints of 5G networks in Australia’s populated areas.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
Optus and Vodafone remain on the winners’ podium for Availability, with statistically tied scores of 99.2-99.3%. These scores represent the proportion of time Opensignal users spend with a 5G, 4G or 3G mobile signal.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
National Analysis
Vodafone remains the sole winner of 5G Availability, with a score of 57.9% — nearly twice as much as the runner-up Telstra’s 29.4%. These results reflect the time that our 5G users on their networks spend utilizing an active 5G connection. Vodafone’s high score can be attributed to the company’s 5G standalone access deployments.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
City Analysis
City Analysis Summary: Australia, Mobile Network Experience Report, April 2025
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A-I
- Adelaide
- Brisbane
- Canberra–Queanbeyan
- Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
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J-R
- Melbourne
- Perth
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S-Z
- Sydney
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Perth
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
in Sydney
Consistency
National Analysis
Vodafone jumps onto the winners’ podium for Consistent Quality and shares the award along with the previous outright winner Optus, with statistically tied scores of 78.7-78.9%. Telstra is around one point behind the joint winners.
This metric measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices. It assesses a number of experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, and time to first byte.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download throughput, upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
National Analysis
In the first Australia Mobile Network Experience report where we introduce this metric, Optus and Vodafone jointly win Reliability Experience. They share the victory with statistically tied scores of 907-910 points on a 100-1000 point scale, around 33 points ahead of Telstra.
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks. It consists of the following components:
a) Signal Availability — the proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully receive mobile network signal,
b) Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet,
c) Task Completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed,
d) Sufficiency — the probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.
City Analysis
City Analysis Summary: Australia, Mobile Network Experience Report, April 2025
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A-I
- Adelaide
- Brisbane
- Canberra–Queanbeyan
- Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
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J-R
- Melbourne
- Perth
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S-Z
- Sydney
in Adelaide
in Adelaide
in Brisbane
in Brisbane
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Canberra–Queanbeyan
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Gold Coast–Tweed Heads
in Melbourne
in Melbourne
in Perth
in Perth
in Sydney
in Sydney
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience