Network coverage maps

We use a specific set of frequencies for our mobile network in Australia. Phones sold by Telstra stores are compatible with those frequencies.

If you’re buying a phone from a third party or another country, check whether it’ll work with our network. If it’s not compatible, you may experience coverage issues or no connectivity at all.

Our main frequencies

Telstra's network can typically extend 20 to 70 km out to sea from mobile base stations located near the coast. However, there are many factors such as the weather, tides, sea conditions and your antenna installation (type and height above sea level) that can significantly influence coverage, data speed and performance. As a result, you must not rely on the Telstra Mobile Network as a primary method of communication at sea. 

To assist with your mobile services at sea, you should use a directly connected external antenna – one that is omnidirectional or a specialist marine antenna capable of 'tracking' to the best serving base station. The antenna should be mounted as high as possible on your vessel using marine-grade cabling and connections.

In order for a service at sea to work effectively, line of sight to the terrestrial base station is required. This is influenced by the height of the serving base station, land based obstructions and the general topography of the land, which can block signals. Coverage will not be reliable over the horizon from a mobile base station even though it may be usable at times.

A small cell is a miniature version of a standard base station which was traditionally used to boost coverage and capacity in densely populated urban areas.

In 2014, Telstra reworked the technology to launch small cells for 4G in small regional and rural communities where a full sized base station would not be feasible.

LTE small cells do not support 3G services, so customers need to use a handset with 4G voice calling (HD Calling) to be able to make a voice call when connected through an LTE small cell.

The underlying technology that enables 4G voice calling on these cells can be further extended by customers using Voice over WiFi that supports seamless voice handover between outdoor 4G coverage and an indoor WiFi connection where 4G coverage may not reach.

Explore 5G phones and devices.

5G stands for fifth generation. It follows 2G, 3G and 4G, and is the next leap forward in wireless network technology. It comes in two types: 5G Home Internet and 5G Mobile.

With 5G, you can get:

• faster speeds
• smoother streaming
• near real-time gaming
• increased data capacity
• reduced latency.

Read more about 5G for internet and for mobile.

mmWave – pronounced as "millimetre wave" – is a short-range, high-frequency network technology that really shows off what 5G can do.

It's the next 'wave' of 5G, so to speak.

If you think of a network like a pipe, you can only force so much down that pipe before things become congested. We're always looking to create newer, wider pipes so more data can be carried across our network for more people at once. That's where mmWave comes in.

mmWave has a lot more bandwidth on offer. It's another step towards delivering on 5G's potential with super-fast speeds and more capacity.