MVNOs in Australia: Every mobile provider explained

The meaning of MVNO is ‘mobile virtual network operator’ and MVNOs is short for ‘mobile virtual network operators’.

An MVNO is a mobile provider that leases phone and data services from network providers, rather than building and supplying the networks themselves. In most cases, MVNOs offer the same mobile coverage you’d get on the Telstra, Optus or Vodafone networks, but they have fewer overheads to pay and tend to offer cheaper plans.

MVNOs on the Optus and Vodafone networks get complete access to their respective 4G networks. 5G support is also making its way to MVNOs. But most Telstra MVNOs use the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network, a slightly smaller version of Telstra’s market-leading 4G and 5G network.

Here's a quick look at some of the most popular MVNOs operating in Australia.

There are three mobile networks in Australia: Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Every MVNO either piggybacks on one of the three Australian mobile networks or is owned and operated by one of the big three. For example, MATE is an independent NBN provider and MVNO that leases its services from Optus, providing 4G and 5G mobile coverage on the Optus network. Then there are providers like Felix Mobile, an MVNO that is directly owned and operated by TPG/Vodafone.

The MVNO market provides healthy competition and often affordable alternatives to the more recognisable service providers. More recently, the MVNO market has been muddied by sub-brands launched and acquired by the big three.

In the world of MVNOs, brands like Belong (owned by Telstra) are marketed like MVNOs but are actually owned and operated by one of the big three providers. Then there are independent MVNOs like Aussie Broadband that rely on the networks of the big three but are still privately owned companies.

Check out the MVNO list below to see which networks telcos use, plus whether they offer 4G and/or 5G connectivity.

Best is, of course, a relative term. The best MVNO depends on whether you're looking for coverage, value, customer support or some combination of the three. It’s pricey, but for coverage it’s hard to go past Boost Mobile, which uses the full Telstra network.

We think Everyday Mobile is a good all-rounder when it comes to value and features. It's on the Telstra wholesale network, which means you should get good coverage in most areas of Australia. Everyday also stacks up reasonably well to other MVNOs on price. Add in a monthly 10% discount on your Woolworth's shop, and it also offers some good perks.

Superloop and amaysim have a good number of support pathways if you want the peace of mind of assistance. But, if you're more budget-conscious or you're looking for different features, a different MVNO might be a better fit.

For a look at how all Australia's mobile providers stack up, check out our guide on the best mobile providers https://www.reviews.org/au/mobile/best-mobile-providers-in-australia/.

Telstra MVNOs are the most popular in Australia and for a fairly obvious reason: Telstra’s premium network coverage can be expensive.

For many Australians living in or travelling to rural areas, Telstra (or Telstra’s network) is the only viable mobile option. If that's you, there's a good chance that Telstra MVNOs might be a convenient alternative. Even compared to some of the Optus and Vodafone MVNOs out there, Telstra MVNOs offer some of the best value in Australia by piggybacking on the comprehensive coverage and connection quality of the Telstra network.

There's one small catch: you won’t get access to the full Telstra network. Instead, all MVNOs tied to the big T (except for Boost Mobile) are limited to the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network. Is there a significant difference between the full Telstra network and the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network? Well, yes and no.

For a visual indication of how the full Telstra network and the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network compare, have a play with the image slider below.

The Telstra network is the largest mobile network in Australia, reaching 99.7% of the Australian population. The Telstra wholesale network is available to MVNOs and reaches 98.8% of Australians. It’s a small difference in percentages but still somewhere in the ballpark of 243,000 Australians.

That said, the Telstra Wholesale Mobile Network is still larger than the Optus and Vodafone networks. So if you’re covered with Telstra, there’s a strong chance you’ll get reception with a Telstra MVNO. If you’re worried about switching to a Telstra MVNO, you can always check your address in the Telstra wholesale network coverage map for peace of mind.

Boost Mobile is the only Telstra MVNO that has access to the full Telstra network. It used to be independent, but Telstra acquired Boost Mobile in December 20024. For now at least, Boost Mobile customers still have access to the full Telstra retail network, plus some of Telstra’s backend resources (such as customer support) and perks (like Telstra Plus).

Therefore, for the complete Telstra retail network, you have two options: Telstra or Boost. Over on the Telstra wholesale network, you’ll find a lot more variety. Here’s a Telstra MVNO list for the telcos we track in our database:

• Aldi Mobile
• Belong (Telstra sub-brand)
• Boost Mobile
• Everyday (Woolworths) Mobile
• Exetel
• More Telecom
• Superloop
• Tangerine Telecom

Some of those Telstra MVNOs aren’t just good value on the Telstra network. Providers like Tangerine, ALDI Mobile and Everyday Mobile have a knack for topping our monthly picks of the best SIM-only plans and the best prepaid plans available.

Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular plans on the Telstra network this week:

Unlike Telstra, every Optus MVNO gets access to the complete Optus 4G network. Optus 5G is a bit of a different story with speeds commonly capped at 100Mbps or 150Mbps. Here’s an Optus MVNO list for the providers we track in our database:

• AGL
• amaysim (acquired by Optus)
• Aussie Broadband
• Coles Mobile
• Dodo Mobile (owned by Vocus Group)
• Moose Mobile
• OnePass Mobile (formerly Catch Connect)
• Southern Phone
• SpinTel
• Swoop
• Yomojo

Let’s do a quick price comparison. At the time of writing, the cheapest MVNO postpaid plan on the Optus network is Moose Mobile, which offers 27GB per month and unlimited calls/text for $12.40 for the first six months (after that you pay $26.80 per month). That’s a huge saving compared to the cheapest Optus SIM plan, which costs $55 per month, admittedly for 50GB per month and the same unlimited calls/text. If you want more data for less, SpinTel typically charges $35 per month for 100GB of Optus 5G data (capped at plenty-fast 150Mbps speeds).

See how popular Optus MVNO plans from our database stack up:

Nowadays, TPG Telecom owns the Vodafone network. It also offers unbridled network access to its MVNOs, but Vodafone MVNOs that offer 5G plans may have capped speeds, either at 100Mbps, 150Mbps, 200Mbps or 250Mbps. There’s one other catch: almost every major MVNO on the Vodafone network is owned by TPG Telecom (except for Kogan Mobile, Lyca Mobile and a few prepaid providers).

Here’s the MVNO list of TPG/Vodafone providers that we track in our database:

• Felix Mobile (TPG Telecom sub-brand)
• iiNet (acquired by TPG Telecom)
• Kogan Mobile
• Lebara Mobile (acquired by Vodafone/TPG Telecom)
• Lyca Mobile
• TPG (merged with Vodafone)

TPG and iiNet prepaid plans are effectively identical, both offering 50% discounts for month-long recharges that have decent data inclusions. Felix Mobile is worth considering if you don’t want excess data charges, or if you’d like a plan with unlimited data (albeit capped at 20Mbps). The cheapest Vodafone monthly prepaid plan costs $35 for 25GB of data, but there are cheaper options with the same data (or more) from Felix, Lebara, Kogan, TPG and iiNet.

Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular Vodafone MVNO plans from our database:

Typically, MVNOs offer cheaper plans compared to the network owners because they are cutting costs elsewhere. Here’s a list of pros and cons if you’re considering an MVNO plan.

MVNOs aren’t cheaper than Telstra, Optus and Vodafone by default but, yes, they typically can charge less for their plans and services because they have far fewer overheads (like infrastructure rollout and maintenance) and smaller customer support costs.

Let’s use Telstra’s SIM-only plans as an example. Telstra’s cheapest Upfront SIM Plan currently costs $65 per month for 50GB of data, plus the usual unlimited calls and text. That’s a lot of data: more than the typical Australian uses every month. If you use a lot less data, Tangerine Telecom offers 12GB of data plus unlimited calls and text for $23 per month. If you are after more data, you can get 40GB through Telstra’s sub-brand Belong for $35 per month.

Even if you do take a leap of faith with a smaller provider you’ve never heard of, most phone plans these days are month-to-month and don’t incur any cancellation or exit fees.

You can switch mobile providers in a matter of minutes and number porting (i.e. keeping your phone number) doesn’t take much longer if you’re switching between providers on the same network. Even if you are, you shouldn’t expect to wait any longer than 48 hours for the transfer to be complete.

If you look at any user review site (like Product Review), you’ll see that independently owned MVNOs like MATE and Aussie Broadband are some of the highest-rated by customers.

That said, customer support and infrastructure is a bit of a double-edged sword. MVNOs only have a fraction of the customer base that Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have. Fewer customers mean fewer problems to solve, and fewer support staff needed. Therefore, MVNOs don’t need to spend as much on their customer support pathways, which is good news for your wallet. It's a little easier for independent MVNOs to manage their customers, but it doesn’t always work that way, which leads us to the first con.

The downside to having a smaller customer support system is that some MVNOs don’t offer many customer support avenues, especially compared to Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

The most obvious support channel you won’t get with most MVNOs is a classic brick-and-mortar store that you can visit in person. Some people still prefer to talk to someone face to face about their mobile plan or bill, which you just don’t get with MVNOs. That said, most Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are shop fronts for selling mobile plans and handsets that don’t actually have any backend account privileges. Effectively, even if you do visit a store, you may still need to talk to a technical support representative over the phone a lot of the time (depending on the issue).

But it’s not just stores. Providers like Felix Mobile don’t offer a customer support phone number; they’re run exclusively online. Everything from signing up to troubleshooting issues is done via their websites or apps, typically with live chat or a WhatsApp messaging service. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some people love live chat as a customer support option. But then not every MVNO offers live chat. This is why it’s important to research your options before signing up.

One of the bigger drawbacks when it comes to MVNOs is that you might miss out on 5G. Not all MVNOs have access to the 5G portions of their respective networks. Some Optus MVNOs like Aussie Broadband and amaysim offer 5G on select plans, while others like Moose Mobile do not.

Those that do usually offer 5G subject to a speed limit. Belong's 5G SIM-only plans come with a 150Mbps or 250Mbps speed limit, depending on how much you pay. That's still fast enough for pretty much every mobile scenario, but it's far from the max speed that a 5G device like the iPhone 16e can achieve.

Most MVNOs don’t offer phones on a plan, except for a select few. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone typically stock the latest iPhone, Samsung, Google and other popular Android smartphones. For MVNOs that offer mobile phones, you’ll either want refurbished options from Boost Mobile or new models from amaysim. Southern Phone offers a small selection of Samsung phones and handsets for seniors.

Here are the mobile providers in Australia we track that offer mobile handsets:

• amaysim
• Belong (refurbished)
• Boost Mobile (refurbished)
• Kogan Mobile (refurbished)
• Optus
• Southern Phone
• Telstra
• Vodafone

And here’s a small selection of popular handsets offered by some of the providers we track in our database:

Most MVNOs don’t offer the same sort of plan perks as Telstra, Optus or Vodafone. When you sign up with one of the big three, they will typically sweeten the deal with a variety of features. Things like cheap cinema tickets, streaming service deals (like Optus Sport), frequent flyer points, discounts on experiences (like concerts) and rewards programs like Telstra Plus.

That said, a select few MVNOs sometimes offer better perks. Everyday Mobile gives its customers 10% off their monthly shop (for purchases up to $500) for most of its plans. That’s breakfast for some large families and a potential saving of $50 per month (which more or less pays for your phone plan).

MVNO is short for ‘mobile virtual network operator’. An MVNO is a mobile provider that leases a network from a mobile network owner (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone in Australia).

MVNO plans are generally cheaper, but their disadvantages include fewer customer support pathways, lack of 5G support (at all or at faster/full speeds), and they’re not a great choice for anyone looking to pay off a new mobile phone handset.

While MVNO plans use established mobile networks – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone in Australia – they aren’t necessarily slower. MVNO plans may have capped speeds, though, particularly for 5G mobile plans, ranging from 100Mbps to 250Mbps (where caps apply).