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Vodafone to double mobile network coverage in Australia
Following a network-sharing agreement with Optus, Vodafone will double its mobile network coverage in Australia by 2025, reaching 98.4% of the population
Vodafone will more than double its mobile network coverage in Australia following a regional network-sharing agreement between TPG Telecom and Optus, approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
TPG Telecom, the parent company of Vodafone, entered into an agreement with Optus earlier this year to access over 2,000 Optus mobile network sites in regional Australia.
The expansion of Vodafone’s mobile network – from around 400,000 square kilometres to around one million square kilometres – is expected to be switched on in early 2025. This will extend its reach to 98.4% of Australia’s population.
“This is a huge win for customers and regional Australia, with our award-winning mobile services soon to be available in thousands of holiday destinations and regional communities across the country,” said Kieren Cooney, Vodafone’s group executive for its consumer business.
“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,” he added. “With this network expansion we will break the mobile duopoly that has limited customer choice in regional Australia for too long. We’ve listened to our customers and are excited to say Vodafone’s coming to town.”
Vodafone said existing customers will also benefit from additional regional 4G coverage, and 5G services will be rolled out to regional users where available.
Places like Cloncurry and Thursday Island in Queensland, Lachlan in Tasmania, and Wattle Flat in New South Wales, will see 4G, and later, 5G connectivity. Areas such as Cobar and Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, Coober Pedy in South Australia, and Coral Bay in Western Australia will be upgraded from 3G to 4G.
NBN Co to boost broadband speeds
Separately, NBN Co announced it will increase the wholesale download and upload speeds of its three highest-speed residential broadband products.
For example, the nbn Home Superfast wholesale product will see download speeds triple from 250Mbps to 750Mbps, and upload speeds double from 25Mbps to 50Mbps.
The enhanced high-speed wholesale products will be available to internet retailers from 14 September 2025 to sell to eligible residential and business customers connected to the nbn via fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) or hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) technology.
NBN Co will also introduce wholesale download speeds of 2Gbps through two new nbn Home Hyperfast tiers that will offer 2Gbps download speeds and 200Mbps upload speeds for FTTP customers, and 2Gbps download speeds and 100Mbps upload speeds for those using HFC.
Anna Perrin, chief customer officer at NBN Co, said the multi-billion-dollar fibre upgrade programme and launch of the higher-speed tiers are designed to lift Australia’s digital capabilities, unlocking social and economic opportunities across the nation.
“Australians are consuming more data than ever before, and faster, higher-capacity broadband supports more high- and super-high-definition video streaming and video conferencing, and smoother and lower-latency gaming, particularly when multiple devices are connected simultaneously,” she said.
“The network upgrades aim to make Australia ‘future-ready’ for the myriad applications that are on the horizon, including the anticipated rise of artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality.”
Read more about telecoms in Australia
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- Australia’s national broadband network operator plans to tap renewable energy and roll out energy-efficient fibre as part of its longer-term target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Vonage partners with Telstra to combine network APIs with API platform and 5G network capabilities to enable enterprises to build applications for optimised customer experiences.
- The media and telecoms industry accounted for the bulk of stolen credentials in Australia in 2022, underscoring the need to shore up the country’s cyber security posture.
