Mobile coverage in Australia comes down to one thing more than anything else: which radio frequency bands your phone supports and which ones your carrier broadcasts on. This is the practical guide to all the 4G and 5G bands used by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone in 2026, and what to actually do with that information when you’re buying a phone, picking a carrier, or wondering why your signal drops in certain spots.
The short version: if your phone supports Band 28 (700 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz) and n78 (3.5 GHz 5G), you’ll be fine on all three Australian networks. If it doesn’t support Band 28 specifically, your coverage in rural and outer-suburban Australia will be much worse than your neighbours’.
The carrier-by-band reference
The rest of this page goes through why these bands matter, what each carrier actually does with theirs, and how to check whether your phone can use them all.
Why mobile frequency bands matter
Radio waves obey physics: lower frequencies travel further but carry less data per second; higher frequencies carry more data but don’t reach as far and struggle to get through walls. Mobile networks use a mix of low, mid and high bands so they can do both jobs at once.
The practical consequence: a phone that only supports high-band 4G works fine in central Sydney but loses signal as soon as you drive an hour out of town. A phone that only supports low-band gets coverage everywhere but feels slow in busy areas. The carriers want you to have a phone that supports the full mix, and Australian networks deliberately use bands that overlap so a properly equipped phone will jump between them depending on where you are.
Telstra bands
Telstra owns the most spectrum of any Australian carrier and uses the widest mix of bands. This is the technical reason behind its “biggest network” advertising. More spectrum means more places where its towers can serve you.
- 4G Band 28 (700 MHz) — The flagship rural coverage band. Reaches further from each tower than any other Telstra 4G frequency. If you live or travel outside the metro fringe, this is the band that keeps you connected.
- 4G Band 5 (850 MHz) — Telstra’s legacy 850 MHz band, refarmed for 4G after the 3G shutdown. Excellent for building penetration in urban areas.
- 4G Band 3 (1800 MHz) — The main urban 4G layer. Best balance of reach and speed.
- 4G Band 7 (2600 MHz) — High-capacity layer in cities, suburbs and along highways. Good speeds, shorter range.
- 5G n78 (3.5 GHz) — Telstra’s main 5G layer. Available in most metro areas and growing.
- 5G n5 (850 MHz, DSS) — A clever shared layer that runs 5G on the same 850 MHz spectrum as 4G Band 5. Gives Telstra 5G coverage way beyond its 3.5 GHz reach, at the cost of slower 5G speeds in those areas.
- 5G n258 (26 GHz mmWave) — Ultra-fast millimetre-wave 5G in pockets of major CBDs (parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth). Gigabit speeds in literal line-of-sight to a tower; useless 100 metres away.
Telstra’s 3G network was shut down in October 2024. If you’ve still got an old phone that only works on 3G, it’s been offline for over a year now and won’t even make emergency calls reliably.
Optus bands
Optus runs a leaner band mix than Telstra but covers most of the same ground. Optus tends to be strongest in metro and suburban areas. The network is built around dense urban capacity rather than reaching deep into regional Australia.
- 4G Band 28 (700 MHz) — Optus’s rural coverage band, same as Telstra. Generally a bit narrower allocation (10 MHz vs Telstra’s 15 MHz) so peak speeds at 700 MHz are slightly lower.
- 4G Band 3 (1800 MHz) — Main urban 4G layer.
- 4G Band 1 (2100 MHz) — Mid-band capacity layer, originally the first LTE band when 4G launched in Australia.
- 4G Band 7 (2600 MHz) — High-band 4G capacity in metro areas.
- 4G Band 40 (2300 MHz) — A TDD band exclusive to Optus, mostly used in dense urban areas for extra capacity. This is one to specifically check if you’re buying a phone for Optus use — not all phones support Band 40.
- 5G n78 (3.5 GHz) — Main 5G layer. Optus rolled this out aggressively in 2019-2022 across major cities.
- 5G n258 (26 GHz mmWave) — Limited mmWave 5G in selected metro spots (mostly Sydney CBD).
Optus shut down its 3G network in October 2024, same month as Telstra. The 850 MHz spectrum freed up has been refarmed for 4G and 5G capacity.
Vodafone bands
Vodafone Australia is now part of TPG Telecom (the merger completed in 2020) and runs a network that has historically been strongest in metro coverage with weaker reach in regional areas. The band mix reflects that focus.
- 4G Band 28 (700 MHz) — Vodafone has 10 MHz of Band 28 spectrum nationally. Important for regional coverage.
- 4G Band 5 (850 MHz) — Vodafone uses 850 MHz for building penetration in urban areas. This is Vodafone’s distinguishing band — neither Telstra nor Optus uses 4G on this frequency.
- 4G Band 3 (1800 MHz) — Main urban 4G.
- 4G Band 1 (2100 MHz) — Mid-band capacity. Originally the first LTE band Vodafone activated.
- 5G n78 (3.5 GHz) — Main 5G layer. Coverage focused on metro CBDs and inner-suburban areas.
Vodafone has notably not deployed 26 GHz mmWave 5G, focusing instead on improving its n78 sub-6 footprint. Its 3G network was shut down in January 2025, slightly later than Telstra and Optus.
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Band 28 (700 MHz): the band that matters most
If you only learn one band number from this page, make it Band 28. It’s the 700 MHz LTE band that all three Australian carriers use for rural and outer-suburban coverage, and it’s the difference between full signal and no signal in a lot of the country.
700 MHz spectrum was reclaimed from analog TV broadcasters in 2014 and auctioned off to the carriers. The frequency is low enough that it travels much further from a tower than higher-band 4G (often 2-3 times the distance), penetrates buildings better, and reaches deep into terrain that mid-band 4G can’t. That’s why a Band 28-capable phone gets signal in a rural farmhouse where an old phone shows “no service”.
Almost every Australian sold phone made after 2015 supports Band 28. The risk is when you buy a phone that’s imported from another market. US market iPhones, EU market Pixels, some Asian market Samsung models. They often skip Band 28 because it’s an Australia/New-Zealand/Latin-American allocation. The phone will still work in metro Australia but will lose signal much sooner when you head out of town.
How to check what bands your phone supports
iPhone
Apple sells region specific iPhone models with different band support. The model number gives it away: an “A” suffix on the iPhone model tells you which market it was built for. The Australian iPhone models are listed on Apple’s site under each generation’s tech specs. Look for the row that says “Model A2xxx (Australia)” and the listed LTE bands underneath.
To find your iPhone’s model number: Settings → General → About → Model Number. The number starts with M (retail), F (refurb) or N (replacement). Tap once on the number and it converts to the A-prefixed model code. Cross-check that against Apple’s specs page for your iPhone generation.
Android
Two ways. The simple way: look up your phone model on GSMArena. The network section lists every band the phone supports. The technical way: open your dialer and type *#*#4636#*#* on most Android phones. This opens a hidden test menu. Tap “Phone information” and scroll to the network bands list.
Note that the 4636 code is being disabled on newer Android versions (Android 12+), and some manufacturers (Samsung especially) lock it down. GSMArena is the reliable fallback.
Buying a phone for Australian networks
If you buy your phone from an Australian retailer (Apple Australia, JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, the carrier stores), the model you get is the Australian variant and it will have full band support for all three networks. No further checking needed.
If you’re importing a phone, eBay, AliExpress, US online retailers, duty-free shopping on holiday, check the band list carefully before buying. The big risks:
- US-market iPhones often skip Band 28. They work fine in cities but lose regional coverage.
- Chinese-market Samsungs sometimes skip Band 7 and Band 40. You’ll get coverage but slower speeds in busy areas.
- EU-market Pixels and Xiaomi handsets vary. Some include Band 28, some don’t.
- Older phones (pre-2015) often don’t support 5G at all and may not support all 4G bands. Increasingly common to find a great-condition older phone for cheap that’s missing n78 5G.
The single fastest check: confirm the phone supports Band 28 (LTE 700), Band 3 (LTE 1800), and n78 (5G 3500). If it does, it’ll work on all three Australian networks for the foreseeable future.
The 3G shutdown context (legacy)
Australia’s 3G networks are gone. Telstra and Optus shut theirs in October 2024, Vodafone in January 2025. The 850 MHz spectrum the 3G networks used has been refarmed. Some of it for 4G capacity, some for 5G. If you’ve still got an old phone that only does 3G, it stopped making calls when its carrier’s shutdown date passed.
There’s one wrinkle that caught a lot of people out: some 4G-capable phones (especially imports) didn’t support 4G VoLTE for voice calls in Australia. When 3G shut down, voice calls stopped working even though the phone could still do 4G data. If you experienced this, the phone needs a firmware update from the manufacturer to enable VoLTE on Australian carriers, and if no update exists, the only fix is a new phone.
Frequently asked questions
What 4G bands does Telstra use in Australia?
Telstra uses Band 28 (700 MHz), Band 5 (850 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz) and Band 7 (2600 MHz) for 4G. Band 28 is the widest-reaching for rural coverage; Band 7 is the fastest in metro areas. Telstra also runs 5G on n78 (3.5 GHz), n5 (850 MHz DSS) and limited n258 (26 GHz mmWave).
What 4G bands does Optus use?
Optus uses Band 28 (700 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 1 (2100 MHz), Band 7 (2600 MHz) and Band 40 (2300 MHz). Band 40 is Optus specific, neither Telstra nor Vodafone uses it. 5G is on n78 (3.5 GHz) plus limited n258 mmWave.
What 4G bands does Vodafone use?
Vodafone uses Band 28 (700 MHz), Band 5 (850 MHz), Band 3 (1800 MHz) and Band 1 (2100 MHz). Band 5 is what distinguishes Vodafone’s network, neither Telstra nor Optus uses 4G on 850 MHz. 5G is on n78 (3.5 GHz). Vodafone has not deployed 26 GHz mmWave 5G.
What’s the most important band for Australian coverage?
Band 28 (700 MHz). All three Australian carriers use it for rural and outer-suburban coverage, and it reaches further from each tower than any other 4G band. If your phone doesn’t support Band 28, your signal will drop much sooner when you leave the city than your neighbour’s.
Will a US iPhone work on Australian networks?
Mostly yes, but with caveats. US market iPhones support enough 4G bands to work on Australian networks, but they often skip Band 28 (700 MHz), so coverage in regional Australia and outer suburbs will be much worse than an Australian market iPhone. If you mostly stay in cities, a US iPhone is fine. If you travel regionally, buy the Australian model.
Is mmWave 5G actually available in Australia?
In small pockets, yes. Telstra and Optus have deployed n258 (26 GHz) mmWave 5G in selected parts of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth CBDs. It delivers gigabit speeds in line-of-sight to a tower but doesn’t work indoors or much past 100 metres. Vodafone has not deployed mmWave at all. For most users, sub-6 GHz n78 5G is what they’ll actually connect to.
When did 3G shut down in Australia?
Telstra and Optus shut down their 3G networks in October 2024. Vodafone shut down its 3G in January 2025. All three carriers are now 4G and 5G only. Old 3G-only phones will not make calls or use data on any Australian network.
Do MVNOs (Boost, Aldi Mobile, Belong, etc.) use the same bands as their parent network?
Yes. MVNOs are resellers that run on the parent network’s infrastructure. Boost Mobile uses Telstra’s full band list. Aldi Mobile, Catch Connect and Lyca run on Telstra. Coles Mobile and amaysim run on Optus. Belong is a Telstra brand. The bands available to you are the parent’s bands; the MVNO just resells the access.
What is Band 40 and do I need it?
Band 40 is a 2300 MHz time-division duplex (TDD) band that Optus uses exclusively in Australia. It’s a high-capacity band for dense urban areas. If you’re on Optus or thinking of switching to Optus, check whether your phone supports Band 40. If it does, you’ll get better speeds in busy areas. If you’re on Telstra or Vodafone, you don’t need Band 40 support.
Can I see what band my phone is currently using?
Sometimes. On Android, the dialer code *#*#4636#*#* opens a hidden test menu with current band info on most older phones; many newer Android versions have disabled or limited this. On iPhone there’s no built-in way without putting the phone into Field Test mode (dial *3001#12345#*) which shows technical info including the current band. Third-party apps like Network Cell Info Lite on Android can show this more reliably than the system menus.
