What's the best mobile broadband for Australia? I need something for Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, am tired of paying through the nose for hotel internet!
Hey Al, I'll kick this off with a suggestion of Telstra as your carrier. Their 3G 'dual channel' (Ultimate) USB dongle is great for speed, the Next G network has superb coverage as well as 'soak' into buildings (due to the use of a lower radio frequency, 850MHz) and Telstra's prices are nowhere near as outrageous as they once were.
Apart from that, your options are prepaid data or a fixed contract. Some of the prepaid bundles are great value for sporadic use but if you're very regularly travelling you might find a standard contract is better value.
Without a doubt Telstra. Their coverage and speeds in the major centres is usually far superior to the other carriers.
If you don't want to pay the additional cost that comes with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are both very good as well. You will notice a larger drop in speeds from the hotel internet that you're using at the moment though.
Thank you everyone, Telstra looks like the favourite at this stage. Airport Addict, do you find you get amazing 4G speeds on the Telstra 4G modem and is this just around the inner-city, like the CBD?
The speeds are excellent, but still don't come close to the speed of 4G in the US from my experience. Also bear in mind that 4G coverage is quite restricted outside of the major centres, so you'll probably be on a regular HSDPA network whenever you leave the CBD. The speeds Telstra offers outside the city are still generally faster than the other networks though...
Yes, incredible speeds where there is currently 4G which is mostly CBDs. Everywhere else it relies on 3G or 2G. Telstra hopes to have 4G everywhere that there is 3G.
For what AI is after in the big smoke, I agree with the consensus.
However, once you head to regional centres, I've found that Optus has better speeds as fewer people use them because of Telstra's greater coverage in rural. I found Vodafone to be good in Canberra and rural NSW too, but as soon as I moved to Darwin, I was excited about dialup speeds, and soon abandoned them.
AlG
AlG
Member since 04 Nov 2010
Total posts 155
What's the best mobile broadband for Australia? I need something for Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, am tired of paying through the nose for hotel internet!
David
David
Member since 24 Oct 2010
Total posts 1,016
Hey Al, I'll kick this off with a suggestion of Telstra as your carrier. Their 3G 'dual channel' (Ultimate) USB dongle is great for speed, the Next G network has superb coverage as well as 'soak' into buildings (due to the use of a lower radio frequency, 850MHz) and Telstra's prices are nowhere near as outrageous as they once were.
Apart from that, your options are prepaid data or a fixed contract. Some of the prepaid bundles are great value for sporadic use but if you're very regularly travelling you might find a standard contract is better value.
am
am
Member since 15 Apr 2011
Total posts 216
Without a doubt Telstra. Their coverage and speeds in the major centres is usually far superior to the other carriers.
If you don't want to pay the additional cost that comes with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are both very good as well. You will notice a larger drop in speeds from the hotel internet that you're using at the moment though.
AirportAddict
AirportAddict
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 05 Jan 2012
Total posts 175
AlG
AlG
Member since 04 Nov 2010
Total posts 155
Thank you everyone, Telstra looks like the favourite at this stage. Airport Addict, do you find you get amazing 4G speeds on the Telstra 4G modem and is this just around the inner-city, like the CBD?
am
am
Member since 15 Apr 2011
Total posts 216
The speeds are excellent, but still don't come close to the speed of 4G in the US from my experience. Also bear in mind that 4G coverage is quite restricted outside of the major centres, so you'll probably be on a regular HSDPA network whenever you leave the CBD. The speeds Telstra offers outside the city are still generally faster than the other networks though...
AirportAddict
AirportAddict
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 05 Jan 2012
Total posts 175
Yes, incredible speeds where there is currently 4G which is mostly CBDs. Everywhere else it relies on 3G or 2G. Telstra hopes to have 4G everywhere that there is 3G.
here2go
here2go
Qantas
Member since 10 Sep 2011
Total posts 45
For what AI is after in the big smoke, I agree with the consensus.
However, once you head to regional centres, I've found that Optus has better speeds as fewer people use them because of Telstra's greater coverage in rural. I found Vodafone to be good in Canberra and rural NSW too, but as soon as I moved to Darwin, I was excited about dialup speeds, and soon abandoned them.
johnaboxall
johnaboxall
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 24 Aug 2011
Total posts 384
Telstra LTE works blindingly fast in the airports and CBD areas, for example ~700 Collins St Melbourne: http://www.speedtest.net/android/153504619.png
However it is also in many regional areas as well - with similar speeds.E.g. example Maitland NSW, Warrnambool VIC, Kalgoorlie WA etc. Check the coverage map at http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/coverage-networks/network-information/4g/