Telstra’s Retail Vs Wholesale mobile plans (what it offers versus what its Mobile Virtual Network Operators – MVNOs offer) are two very different animals. Should how much you are gouged dictate the services/coverage you receive?
First, a little background on Telstra’s Retail vs. wholesale mobile plans. Telstra and one MVNO, Boost Mobile (now 100% Telstra-owned), use the full Retail Network. Every other Telstra MVNO, like Belong (Telstra-owned), Woolworths and Aldi, uses the Telstra Wholesale network. For the most part, city and urban dwellers won’t notice the difference. But rural, regional, and remote areas will. If download speeds are essential, the Wholesale plans usually have capped speeds.
Difference between Telstra’s Retail Vs Wholesale mobile plans (28/4/2025)
| Item | Telstra Retail | Telstra Wholesale |
| Brands | Telstra Direct and Boost Mobile (Not Belong) | Telstra MVNOs like Woolworths and Aldi |
| Claimed Population coverage | 4G – 99.7% 5G – 91% | 4G – 98.8% 5G* – 75% Source) |
| Undisclosed area coverage | 2.6 million square km (33.82% of 7.688 million square km) | 1.7 million square km (21%) |
| Download/Upload | Telstra Uncapped 4G up to 200/50Mbps 5G up to 1Gbps/40Mbps Typically 250/20Mbps (Source) Boost Mobile capped 4G up to 100/40Mbps 5G up between 150/250/40Mbps. Typically, 50/10Mbps | Capped 4G up to 100/40Mbps 5G up between 150/250/40Mbps. Typically, 100/20Mbps (Source) |
| Bands 4G | B3 (1800MHz) B7 (2600MHz) limited areas B28 (700MHz) – also used for 000 emergency calls | Same |
| Bands 5G Requires a 5G plan | N5 (850MHz) low band for closer to 3G speeds at up to 5km from a tower N78 (3500MHz) sub-6 GHz at 5G speeds up to 1.6km from a tower (Source). | Same |
| Support/Outages | Via Telstra/Boost Call Centre or Telstra/Boost App | Woolworths – Olive Chatbot (pretty good) or call 1300 101 234 Aldi – Log in to your account and submit a support form or call 1300 989 000. |
| Price | Telstra Post-paid uncapped 4/5G $65/75/99 for 50/75/99GB Boost Mobile capped $39/49/59/74 for 25/35/45/90 | Woolworths SIM ONLY 4/5G $36/45/54 for 55/95/150GB Aldi $39/39/49/59 for 25/65/120/175GB |
What does this all mean?
From a phone user’s perspective, all plans cover at least Unlimited calls to Australian landlines and Calls/SMS to and from Australian mobiles.
Most MVNOs offer limited-time data bonuses to entice new customers, which we ignore when comparing prices. Buy the base plan that suits your needs and upgrade or downgrade instead of being locked in.
Some MVNOs may offer additional benefits (links are to all Plans)
- Woolworths offers 10% off a monthly grocery shop (maximum value $50), Unlimited international calls and SMS to 22 countries and a 500GB data rollover bank. Overseas roaming is additional.
- Aldi’s plans include standard international calls/SMS to 20 countries. Overseas roaming is additional. Includes data rollover bank.
- Boost Mobile offers unlimited standard calls and SMS to at least 20 international destinations. Overseas roaming is additional. The plan also includes a data rollover bank.
- Telstra offers continuous unused data rollover.
What is best for you?
- If data speed caps are not an issue, Woolworths/Aldi offers far better value. In 99% of cases, you won’t reach anywhere near the maximum download/upload speeds anyway, so that is not an enticement to go to Telstra Retail or Boost.
- If you have 5G access (you live and work where there is coverage), avoid Telstra 5G entirely. You can use a 5G phone with an even cheaper 4G SIM plan.
- With coverage of 2.6 million square kilometres versus 1.7m (the difference is mainly 4G in rural and remote areas and does not affect significant cities/suburbs or regional cities), avoid Telstra.
All Carriers and MVNOs now support VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling. This allows you to use your NBN home Wi-Fi connection to make and receive phone calls. This is important if you live in a Telstra blackspot but have decent Wi-Fi speeds. Telstra recommends using BigPond to enable the service, but we have tested with many other NBN providers—all good. But wait, there is more.
I’mTech’s insight – Telstra’s Retail Vs Wholesale mobile plans
This article started when I went to WA for a holiday, taking a Boost Sim (Telstra Retail Network) in one phone and a Woolworths SIM (Telstra Wholesale Network) in an identical phone.
It was to focus on coverage differences from as far north as Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef), in Perth, south to Rottnest Island and then the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Sydney. It was not scientific but empirical testing, to see where identical 5G smartphones with exceptionally strong antenna signal strengths varied. Read all about our readers’ bad experiences with Telstra’s so-called Blue Tick phones.
We also used Network Cell Info Lite App to measure -dBM signal quality and femtowatt/picowatt signal strengths. Readings were taken at 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM and when the train passed a township. See the Telstra Map and the nPerf map compiled by users (accurate as at early 2024).
The 4G test results were almost identical. The slightly higher Telstra average coverage figures include 5G.
Scarily, without 3G anymore (green lines above), there were great swathes of no coverage.
I’mTech’s insight: Telstra’s Retail Vs Wholesale mobile plans are about cost, not so much service.
- If you must have 5G, the Telstra Direct Retail Network offers the best uncapped coverage, but at a very much higher cost. Boost is capped at a more reasonable cost.
- Typical users don’t lose much on the Telstra Wholesale network. You can get great value from Aldi and Woolworths (especially with the 10% off shopping offer), and any Telstra Wholesale MVNO will have similar network performance.
Again, we call this map a Telstra fantasy because if you expand on the online version, you will see large areas without coverage.
nperf maps are accurate as they record where users get a usable signal.
As usual, Telstra is invited to respond if any of the information above is incorrect.
