Telcos delivering more coverage and greater competition for Australians
12 November 2025: Consumers are the biggest winners from Australian telcos delivering more mobile coverage and greater competition, according to a new independent report on mobile networks.
“Australians have more mobile coverage and greater competition than ever before, with telcos investing in hundreds of new mobile towers and thousands of upgraded 5G sites over the past year,” said Luke Coleman, CEO of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance.
According to the latest ACCC Mobile Infrastructure Report released today, all three national mobile networks have increased their coverage footprint and bolstered the availability of 5G over the last 12 months.
In the last year Optus added 190 new mobile sites, Telstra added another 60, and TPG Telecom had access to an additional 1,938 sites under its Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) agreement with Optus – including 1,590 in regional Australia, and a further 284 in remote areas.
In total, Telstra was reported as having 11,767 mobile sites, Optus 9,391, and TPG 5,207 (increasing to 7,650 under the MOCN agreement) – meaning there are more than 26,000 mobile sites in Australia.
“Mobile operators have been investing heavily in new coverage and capacity – since 2021 both Optus and Telstra have each added more than 1,000 new sites to their networks, while TPG’s network sharing agreement with Optus has more than doubled its coverage footprint,” Mr Coleman said.
“5G coverage is increasing at pace. Telstra, Optus, and TPG combined have added nearly 3,000 new 5G mobile sites in the past year alone – meaning Australians have access to faster mobile broadband speeds and greater network capacity than ever before. Since 2021, the three mobile carriers have added more than 11,000 5G sites to their networks,” he said.
“Australia’s mobile networks are ranked 8th in the world for network excellence,” Mr Coleman said, referring to research by global analyst firm OpenSignal which measures 4G/5G availability, download speeds, and consistent service quality. “Outside of Europe, Australia ranks 2nd in the world – after only South Korea, a global technology leader.”
The significant increase in mobile coverage and competition reiterates the need for expiring spectrum licences to be renewed, according to the ATA.
“Such a high global ranking is no accident – it’s the result of decades of investment in infrastructure, network equipment, and spectrum. The result is that Australians benefit from a competitive market of three national mobile networks and a range of Mobile Virtual Network Operators,” he said.
“A stable and well-managed spectrum renewal process will deliver the best outcomes for Australian consumers. Enabling mobile operators to maintain consistent access to their existing spectrum rights will mean telcos can keep prices low, enable more investment, and deliver the greatest network stability at a time when consumers need reliable connectivity more than ever before,” Mr Coleman said.
