Leading coverage on a budget: Best MVNOs on the Telstra network

For those looking for an alternative to the Big T, we'll give you the lowdown on the best mobile providers on the Telstra network for your coverage, budget, data and phone bundle needs.

Gone are the days when one could pull on a pair of parachute pants, buy a less-than-smart phone that was roughly the size of a brick, and decide on a carrier by flipping a coin that said Telstra on one side and Optus on the other. You're spoiled for choice now, because small mobile service providers— or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) ⁠— are everywhere in today's telco landscape. The good news for you: these smaller, more versatile outfits can sometimes offer you the market's best deals, especially if you're looking for Telstra network providers. If you know where to look...

So let's dive right in and help you navigate the overwhelming amount of brand avenues laid out before you. Below, we've rounded up some of the best MVNOs on the Telstra network worth your time and money depending on your usage needs. In the meantime, take a look at the most popular plans currently available on the Telstra network.

Usually, we'll try to recommend a range of options to go with. However, there's just no getting around the fact that Boost Mobile is the only MVNO with access to the entire Telstra network (with the exception of Telstra 5G) and therefore a no-brainer pick. If you want great network reliability as you trek it around our great sunburnt land, then nobody is going to do it cheaper for you than Boost.

Anybody looking for the most mobile for their money shouldn't go past Woolworths Mobile's budget-friendly options. Generally speaking, Woolworths' range of prepaid and postpaid plans tend to sit at the lower end of the market. It's also common for them to come with the lovely no-strings-attached dynamic of a no-lock-in contract – so if you do find you're operating in some sort of Bermuda Triangle of bad coverage, you can go elsewhere without much of a worry. That, and you won't be slapped with any of those nasty excess charges that tend to ambush people who use longer-term agreements.

Woolworths Mobile plans are also well known for one of the best provider perks available: 10% off one Woolies shop every month. Used properly, it could mean you're saving the entire cost of your phone plan.

It's also worth noting that while the monthly data allotment (and bonus data) is slightly smaller than some plans in this price band, it's perfectly fine for casual internet browsing purposes. Plus, anything you don't use can be squirrelled away for another month (in most cases the maximum size of your data larder is 200GB).

If you wanted to go even cheaper while staying around the same level of value and coverage, then perhaps you'd be best off with Pennytel. They usually keep a handful of great value sim-only options available for purchase, offering unlimited calls and texts to 15 selected countries and great data for your dollar with its two top plans, the Large 18GB and Extra Large 30GB.

If you love data, take a look at Pennytel. This MVNO has a history for providing vast chunks of gigabytes for not much money at all. If you're into live-streaming your exploits, or you just need that Netflix distraction to help you zone out of your daily commute, Pennytel ought to be your first port of call.

Another big benefit of this carrier is their stellar customer service reputation, with an impressive 4.4 out of 5 stars on ProductReview. (For reference, Telstra has just 1.4 stars.)

Belong is not too much lower in our data-loving affections. They're good at luring new customers in with a whole bunch of gigabytes. Along with a few different “big data” options to choose from, you also get unlimited data rollover for whatever you don't use.

Woolworths Mobile is head and shoulders above all other MVNOs when it comes to phone deals. That sheer buying power of being one of the biggest grocery chains in the country cannot be denied. And we're not talking crappy off-brand devices like “Sorny” or “iFruit” – Woolworths Mobile offers a wide range of apex brand, premium phones and devices to pick from, not to mention very generous data inclusions for them. Even better, if you find yourself wooed by another MVNO, Woolies’ plans are contract-free to allow you to cut and run without penalty. You can also opt to pay off your phone over the course of 24 or 36 month periods.

Check out the most popular Woolworths Mobile phone bundles below.

If you are some sort of hard-liner Coles customer, or you want to get back at Woolies for subconsciously implanting their Fresh Food People jingle in your mind, you could look to numobile. This MVNO is well regarded for their nucertified (read: refurbished) device deals and plans at a bargain. Check out the most popular handsets below.

There are quite a few Telstra MVNOs offering decent plans with international call inclusions, but we really can't go past Boost Mobile. One of the best value ones is the Boost Mobile $30 Prepaid plan, which provides unlimited international calls to 20 selected countries, with 300 minutes for a further 30 countries. That’s pretty good for an MVNO. You also get the usual perks like data rollover and access to the full Telstra 4G/3G network.

At the end of the day, if there's a particular handset you want to bundle with your plan (say the latest iPhone), then your only choice will often be Telstra itself. To be fair, Telstra's prices aren't nearly as exorbitant as they once were and the number of perks and bonuses you get as a Telstra customer tend to make up for the premium plan pricing.

If none of the MVNOs suit your smartphone needs, take a look at the most popular Telstra phone plans below.

Rival telco Optus has extended the 5G olive branch to MVNO Spintel but Telstra hasn't announced any plans to give its MVNO partners access to its growing 5G network. There's no doubt it will eventually, but it's likely to be in a limited capacity. With the exception of Boost, Telstra MVNOs have access to the Telstra Wholesale Network, a slightly smaller network that allows Telstra to keep its claim as Australia's largest mobile network.

Our best guess is that we'll begin to see providers on the Telstra network offering limited 5G once the next-generation network is further along.

So those are our picks for Telstra MVNOs, but if you want to see what everyone else is signing up for, take a look at this list of the most popular plans from providers on the Telstra network over the last week.

When we work to find the best MVNO providers on the Telstra network, we take into consideration all of the things that really matter to an avid mobile user. Stuff like coverage, data for dollar value and all those shiny extra plan benefits designed to lure you in. Typically the perks being dangled here include data rollover, data-free streaming (usually aimed at Netflix/Stan aficionados), no-contract plan options and more competitive approaches to better customer service and/or network coverage.