Telstra may have the widest-reaching mobile network in Australia, but its competitor Optus is the big winner in analytics company Opensignal's latest Mobile Network Experience Report — the telco was named sole winner of five awards, and joint winner of three more, earning it the title of 'most awarded operator'.
The report marks the seventh consecutive time that Optus taken out the 5G Download Speed award, with the telco averaging speeds of 209.1Mbps. By comparison, Telstra averaged speeds of 177.7Mbps, while Vodafone came in third with 162.9Mbps.
Optus was also the joint winner of the 5G Upload Speed award, statistically tied with Vodafone to reach average upload speeds of 17.2-17.4Mbps. It is the first time that Optus has won the award.
Along with its download and upload speed honours, Optus also won awards for Video Experience, Games Experience, 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience (tied with Vodafone), Availability (tied with Vodafone) and Consistent Quality, which it has won for the second consecutive time.
Unsurprisingly, Telstra took out the Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards for the third time in a row, though these were the only two awards won by Australia's biggest telco in this latest report.
Optus Mobile: Top SIM only plans
Given its performance in Opensignal's report, it's very easy for us to recommend Optus as a mobile network provider — particularly when it comes to 5G download and upload speeds, and consistent quality.
And while the report strictly explored network experience, it's also worth pointing out that Optus offers excellent value for money when compared to its main rival, Telstra.
The entry-level SIM-only option from Optus is the Small Optus Choice Plus Plan, which is priced at is priced at AU$52 p/m and comes with 50GB of monthly data, which equates to around AU$1.04 per GB.
If you're after an enormous data allowance, Optus also offers a Large Optus Choice Plus Plan, which is priced at AU$82 p/m and provides a massive 360GB of monthly data — that's only AU$0.22 per GB.
Of course, we think the Medium Optus Choice Plan is the best option for most people, as it costs the same as Telstra's entry-level plan (AU$62 p/m) but comes with a whopping 180GB of monthly data (130GB more than Telstra), which works out to AU$0.34 per GB. To try out one of these plans for yourself, simply click on your desired option below.
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