An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. These providers offer mobile services without owning their own mobile spectrum or infrastructure. Instead they purchase mobile network services from a company that does and then resell it to consumers.
In Australia, there are only 3 telcos that have their own mobile network – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. That means all other smaller mobile providers, the MVNOs, use one of those networks.
Most MVNOs are independent companies, but some are owned by the big 3 telcos themselves.
It depends which mobile network the MVNO has access to as to whether it has the same coverage as the bigger mobile providers.
MVNOs that use the Optus and Vodafone mobile networks have the same coverage as Optus and Vodafone themselves, as they use the full network.
With Telstra MVNOs, things are slightly different. Most of these only use the Telstra Wholesale Network, which claims to cover 98.8% of the Australian population. Telstra's full network covers 99.5% of Australians, so those with a Telstra MVNO will lose out on a bit of coverage, mostly in rural and regional areas.
The majority of Telstra MVNOs use the Telstra wholesale mobile network, which covers 98.8% of Australians. Telstra's own network reaches 99.5% of the population.
The only 3 MVNOs in Australia that use Telstra's full network are Boost Mobile, JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys.
Even though it's slightly less coverage, the Telstra wholesale mobile network still reaches more people than the full Optus and Vodafone networks.
Optus MVNOs use the full Optus mobile network, which means 98.5% of Australians are covered.
This means the coverage you get with an Optus MVNO is the same as signing up to a mobile plan from Optus itself.
The MVNOs that use the Vodafone mobile network have full access to it, which offers coverage to 96% of the Australian population.
MVNOs on the Vodafone network mostly offer 4G coverage, with certain plans with trial 5G access.
There are a couple of things to consider to see if it's worth switching to an MVNO.
Everyone has different needs when it comes to mobile plans, but there are many compelling reasons as to why it's worth switching to an MVNO.
The main reason is MVNOs offer cheaper plans.
The ACCC Communications Market Report released in December 2023 found that the median advertised plan price for the big 3 mobile network operators was $58 in 2022–23. For MVNOs, the average was $30.
That's a total difference of $336 over a year signing up with an MVNO instead of 1 of the big 3 mobile operators.
If you're looking for a basic mobile plan and don't need too many bells and whistles, then MVNOs offer lots of affordable options for this.
MVNOs are also worth switching if you don't need a new phone. If you're just after a basic SIM only plan with enough data, MVNOs are a strong option for this.
In a survey of 1,110 Australians, the major brands (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone) were found to be more trustworthy than MVNOs. While these larger providers do not always offer the most affordable plans, it could still be worth signing up with them if brand matters to you.
| Response | |
|---|---|
| Telstra | 60% |
| Vodafone | 30.63% |
| Optus | 29.46% |
| TPG | 14.14% |
| None of the above | 12.88% |
| Belong | 10.99% |
| Amaysim | 7.75% |
| Boost Mobile | 6.85% |
| Other | 6.67% |
| Moose Mobile | 1.17% |
| Lebara | 1.08% |
The main reason MVNOs can offer you a cheaper deal on phone plans than any of the big 3 telcos is because they don't have to pay the costs for building and maintaining the actual mobile networks themselves.
MVNOs are also smaller companies and hence don't spend as much on advertising either.
MVNOs in Australia that offer 5G plans include:
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