What is Vodafone's population coverage in Australia?

Vodafone reaches approximately 98.4% of the Australian population — of the Australian population after the Optus MOCN network-sharing deal.

Why choose Vodafone? Regional coverage doubled via MOCN with Optus

The 11-year Multi-Operator Core Network agreement with Optus expanded Vodafone/TPG's coverage from ~400,000 km² to ~1,000,000 km² using shared Optus sites in regional Australia.

Why choose Vodafone? $5-a-day international roaming

Vodafone's standard international roaming is $5 per day in eligible destinations — one of the cheapest 'stay-on-your-plan' travel offers among AU carriers. Excess data is auto-added at $5/GB.

Why choose Vodafone? 98.4% population coverage

Post-MOCN, Vodafone reaches 98.4% of the population — close parity with Telstra and Optus for most Australians.

What are the downsides of Vodafone? 5G rollout still catching up

Vodafone's 5G is still being progressively rolled out in selected parts of major cities; 5G devices fall back to 4G outside 5G areas.

What are the downsides of Vodafone? Regional expansion is coverage-only, not exclusive infrastructure

The 2024 network-sharing arrangement gives Vodafone access to Optus regional sites but is not simple roaming — it's a MOCN arrangement, so peak performance can differ from native Optus.

Network coverage

Vodafone

Metro-focused, aggressively priced, now regional-capable

Population coverage

98.4%^[9]

of the Australian population after the Optus MOCN network-sharing deal^{[9] [11]}

Best for

City-only mobile usersFrequent international travellers ($5-a-day roaming)SMB / secondary phones on a tight budgetTPG customers wanting a single provider

Vodafone Vodafone (owned by TPG Telecom) historically had the smallest of the three networks by geography. Since the 2024 MOCN network-sharing agreement with Optus, Vodafone's population coverage has jumped substantially and metro coverage remains competitive with the top two.

Pros

The upsides

Regional coverage doubled via MOCN with Optus^{[11] [12]}
The 11-year Multi-Operator Core Network agreement with Optus expanded Vodafone/TPG's coverage from ~400,000 km² to ~1,000,000 km² using shared Optus sites in regional Australia.
$5-a-day international roaming^[10]
Vodafone's standard international roaming is $5 per day in eligible destinations — one of the cheapest 'stay-on-your-plan' travel offers among AU carriers. Excess data is auto-added at $5/GB.
98.4% population coverage^[9]
Post-MOCN, Vodafone reaches 98.4% of the population — close parity with Telstra and Optus for most Australians.
Independent verification by Opensignal^[9]
Opensignal's 2025 Australia Mobile Network Experience Report tracks Vodafone alongside Telstra and Optus for coverage and network resilience.

Cons

Trade-offs to know

5G rollout still catching up^[9]
Vodafone's 5G is still being progressively rolled out in selected parts of major cities; 5G devices fall back to 4G outside 5G areas.
Regional expansion is coverage-only, not exclusive infrastructure^[11]
The 2024 network-sharing arrangement gives Vodafone access to Optus regional sites but is not simple roaming — it's a MOCN arrangement, so peak performance can differ from native Optus.

Our take

If you're a city dweller who travels internationally, Vodafone offers the best value combination of local data + cheap international roaming.^[10]

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