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 continues strong performance with the most awards overall
Optus leads this report with the highest number of outright and joint wins across multiple categories, showcasing strong performance in both 4G and 5G experiences. The operator takes top honors in video, games and download awards — both for 4G and 5G, while sharing the win for Availability and Reliability Experience.
Our Optus users enjoy the fastest download speeds in Australia
Once again, Optus stands out for speed. It wins both 4G Download Speed and 5G Download Speed, giving its users the quickest access to mobile data on either network generation. Optus outperformed Telstra by over 6 Mbps for 4G Download Speed and over 30 Mbps for 5G Download Speed.
Vodafone stands out when it comes to Availability
Vodafone secures a joint-win in Availability and outright win in 5G Availability, maintaining the strong position they held from the last report. Vodafone’s 5G Availability score increased from 57.9% to 67.8% since the last report, strengthening its lead over Optus and Telstra.
Telstra continues to dominate coverage awards
Telstra has once again secured both the Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards, marking its fifth consecutive outright win in each category. These results mean Telstra has the widest and largest footprint of geographical coverage in populated areas out of all mobile operators in Australia.
Vodafone Wins Consistent Quality Outright
After jointly winning Consistent Quality with Optus in the last report, Vodafone has pulled ahead and won outright with a score of 80.6%. This score is an improvement from 78.7% in the last report, ahead of both Telstra (79.9%) and Optus (78.2%).
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Australia Mobile Network Experience report, Optus dominates the award table with six outright and two shared recognitions across the board, out of 14 categories. Vodafone ends with four sole and two shared wins, remaining strong for 5G Availability. Telstra firmly holds onto both Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards from the last previous report.
Since March 2025, Australia’s mobile landscape has been shaped by both heightened competition and increased attention to network dependability. Australia’s major operators — Optus, Telstra, and TPG Telecom — have committed to nationwide stress-testing of emergency-call systems. The Australian government is also planning to boost oversight of the emergency calls service, via legislation which will enhance the powers of the ‘Triple Zero Custodian’. This body will be able to demand information from telecommunications providers so it can monitor Triple Zero performance, identify risks, respond more quickly to outages and make improvements.
In this report, Vodafone has seen notable increases in its Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience scores, after signing a regional network-sharing deal with Optus. This partnership gives Vodafone access to over two thousand Optus sites in regional Australia.
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 July 1, 2025, and ending on September 28, 2025, to see how they fared.
4G Experience
National Analysis
Optus remains the sole winner of the 4G Video Experience award outright with a score of 69.8 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around three points over statistically-tied Telstra and Vodafone.
Optus rates as Very Good (68-78) for 4G video services, which means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling., Meanwhile, Telstra and Vodafone places one category lower, in Good (58-68).
A Very Good (68-78) rating means .
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 retains the Games Experience award with a score of 78.5 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around five points over the runner-up Telstra.
Our users on Optus’s network enjoy Good (75-85) services when gaming on mobile devices, while Telstra and Vodafone place one category lower, in Fair (65-75).
A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem the 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 users in Australia continue to enjoy the fastest 4G download speeds on Vodafone’s network, clocking in at 59.3Mbps — 12% faster than on second-placed Telstra.
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 remains in first place Upload Speed Experience with a score of 8.8Mbps, 21% faster than second-placed Optus.
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, October 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
Once again, Optus wins the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 74.7 points on a 100-point scale, beating second-placed Vodafone by one point.
All Australian operators rate as Very Good (68-78). This means that our users 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 breaks out of the statistical tie it was in with Vodafone in the previous report and takes 5G Games Experience home now, with a score of 86.3 points on a 100-point scale.Vodafone comes second, two points behind the outright winner.
Optus places in the Excellent (85 or above) category, while Telstra and Vodafone place one category lower, in Good (75-85). An Excellent (85 or above) rating means that the vast majority of users deem this network experience acceptable. Nearly all users feel like they have control over the game and they receive immediate feedback on their actions. There is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.
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 triumphs for 5G Download Speed again with a score of 208.4Mbps, commanding a lead of 34Mbps over second-placed Telstra.
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
Vodafone pulls ahead of the fellow joint winner Optus and takes the 5G Upload Speed award all to itself, a score of 14.7Mbps. It beats the previous joint winner by 1Mbps now.
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, October 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 keep the Coverage Experience award in a firm grip with a score of 9.6 points on a 10-point scale, beating Optus by one point.
This score indicates that Telstra has the widest and most extensive geographic coverage footprint in populated areas among Australia’s mobile operators.
Vodafone has seen a notable increase in its Coverage Experience score, after signing a regional network-sharing deal with Optus.
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
Telstra wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright with a score of 7.6 points on a 10-point — three points ahead of second-placed Optus.
This score indicates that Telstra has the widest and most extensive geographic 5G coverage footprint in populated areas among Australia’s mobile operators.
Similar to Coverage Experience, Vodafone has seen a notable increase in its 5G Coverage Experience score, after signing a regional network-sharing deal with Optus.
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 locked in a statistical tie for Availability, with scores of 99.3-99.4%, one percentage point ahead of Telstra.
These figures represent the proportion of time Opensignal users spend with a 5G, 4G, or 3G mobile signal — although all Australian operators have switched off 3G services.
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 continues to lead for 5G Availability, with a score of 67.8% — nearly twice as high as second-placed Telstra’s.
Vodafone has managed to increase its lead over its competitors due to a 10percentage point increase — while Optus and Telstra’s scores have improved by six and five percentage points, respectively.
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, October 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
Consistency
National Analysis
In the previous report, Optus and Vodafone shared the winners’ podium for Consistent Quality. This time around, Vodafone wins the award outright with a score of 80.6% and a lead of one percentage point over second-placed Telstra.
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
Optus and Vodafone remain joint winners of the Reliability Experience award, with identical scores of 929 points on a 100-1000 point scale. Telstra comes third, eight points behind the winners.
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, October 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