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Last week, following the introduction of new standards from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), Telstra stopped talking about the size of its network in terms of population. Telstra previously said its network covered 99.7% of the population, but now it is solely describing its network in terms of square kilometres.
Presumably, this is because it would mean decreasing the population coverage figures it has used so far. The new ACMA standards ruled that areas with signal strength below -115dBM couldn't be shown on coverage maps. This meant around 860,000 square kilometres was removed from Telstra's coverage maps, although it's still by far the largest by nearly double its competitors.
In recent years, all three of the network operators have used population coverage as a way to turn their network sizes into a figure that's comprehensible for consumers.
These claims aren't necessarily required but were useful marketing — in fact, for a number of years Optus didn't publicly advertise any population coverage figure for its 5G network.
Now it would be easy to assume Telstra might be trying to hide something by removing population coverage, but Opensignal's Principal Analyst for APAC Robert Wyrzykowski told WhistleOut that talk of Australia's mobile network coverage in terms of population is now a moot point.
"Population coverage measures how many people have access to a mobile signal where they live and work - making it a valuable metric for digital inclusion, particularly in emerging markets where coverage gaps in inhabited areas remain a real challenge," said Wyrzykowski.
"But in Australia, where all three operators now report 4G population coverage at or above 99%, the metric has essentially lost its ability to differentiate. When everyone is at 99%, the number stops being informative, and universal geographic coverage becomes the more pressing goal - especially for emergency communications."
In addition to splashy 99% figures being harder to actually compare, Wyrzykowski told WhistleOut they're also not the whole picture.
"Beyond geographic remoteness, population coverage also misses areas outside major population centres frequented by large numbers of people but where no one technically lives - airports, highways, theme parks, and holiday or ski resorts, for example."
As part of the ACMA standards changes, Optus and Vodafone were quick to publish updated figures. With a network sharing deal in place, Optus and Vodafone's population coverage figures have become nearly identical.
Before the latest changes, Telstra's last reported figures were 99.7% of the population with its 4G network and 95% for its 5G network. You can see the latest figures here:
| Network | 4G coverage | 5G coverage | Network Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra network* | N/A | N/A | 2.14 mil square km |
| Telstra Wholesale network | N/A | N/A | 1.4 mil square km |
| Optus network | 99.1% | 94.5% | 1.2 million square km |
| Vodafone network | 99% | 94.5% | 1.2 million square km |
Numbers shown are a percentage of the Australian population.
*Telstra no longer provides population-based coverage figures. Boost Mobile is the only Telstra MVNO with access to the full Telstra network.
It's worth noting that Telstra's coverage hasn't really changed - areas that had connectivity still have connectivity - but the maps and how it is reported have.
Dylan Crismale
Digital Content Editor
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