Now to answer rockets enquiry these are the Boost maps for Qld showing both 3G and 4G coverage.
Please note that so to achieve a facsimile of the Telstra map these two maps will need to be overlaid and even then they do not include the areas where Telstra advise to use an aerial to recieve signal
One is for the 3G coverage and one is for the 4G coverage.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 15th of April 2018 11:10:19 AM
Thanks for all the replies and discussions. I see what you mean Geoff, the coverage maps are not a fair comparison. I read on the Boost site, as someone has already pointed out on here, that Boost does use 100% of Telstras network, but they have a slower speed cap than the full Telstra access. Does this matter??? We are supposed to be on holidays aren't we? But I guess for those that stream movies this could cause a problem. The research and procrastinations continue.....
Dickodownunder said
11:04 AM Apr 15, 2018
For the rest of the community here are the maps of Australia relevant to the Boost service.
One again they will be needed to be overlaid to achieve what Telstra display and still keep in mind that the Telstra map also includes the areas where they say you will need an aerial for the service to work.
As Dougwe said above, you will need a phone that works with modern technology
Yes! They were good - access to the entire Telstra network, and a lot cheaper, although just as painful to deal with...
RosieW said
11:07 AM Apr 15, 2018
Try2findus wrote:
Thanks for all the replies and discussions. I see what you mean Geoff, the coverage maps are not a fair comparison. I read on the Boost site, as someone has already pointed out on here, that Boost does use 100% of Telstras network, but they have a slower speed cap than the full Telstra access. Does this matter??? We are supposed to be on holidays aren't we? But I guess for those that stream movies this could cause a problem. The research and procrastinations continue.....
I was on Boost for a while - didn't stream videos. But I did Google, email, use Wikicamps as well as make calls and send texts. They were as good as Telstra for that.
RosieW said
11:09 AM Apr 15, 2018
Jamjar wrote:
RosieW wrote:
Jamjar wrote:
I live in Central West NSW and recently changed from Telstra to Aldi. Aldi is Telstra network. I pay $15pm for unlimited calls and text messages.
J.
But it doesn't have the coverage Telstra does - I went from Telstra to Aldi, and lost coverage. Once we leave here (no coverage from anyone here), I'll go back to a Telstra prepaid, and stay there. I've had Optus before, and found coverage super-spotty.
I havent had any problems at all, with it in my iPhone. Im off inland to QLD next month and then across the Nullabour in July, so guess that will put it to the test.
Jamjar
-- Edited by Jamjar on Saturday 14th of April 2018 05:05:24 PM
-- Edited by Jamjar on Saturday 14th of April 2018 05:05:49 PM
Boost worked in Mitchell QLD, but Aldi doesn't. Cunnamulla & Cobar same deal. Although that could have been weather with Aldi - it was ****e (the weather)...
Dickodownunder said
11:18 AM Apr 15, 2018
Try2findus wrote:
Thanks for all the replies and discussions. I see what you mean Geoff, the coverage maps are not a fair comparison. I read on the Boost site, as someone has already pointed out on here, that Boost does use 100% of Telstras network, but they have a slower speed cap than the full Telstra access. Does this matter??? We are supposed to be on holidays aren't we? But I guess for those that stream movies this could cause a problem. The research and procrastinations continue.....
Hi Penny,
Thank you for your understanding.
We have had Netflix for about 18 months and stream or download movies and docos regularly and we have not noticed any difference whatsoever with the capped speed of Boost compared to Telstra.
In fact I would go as far as to say that Telstra at times slow the speed to their paying customers when it suits them.
If I were a 15 year old "gamer" then maybe I would have to stay home and play games while hooked onto the Telstra NBN but for us (me and the wife) old grey dudes roaming around the countryside then the Boost service, at least for me, is fine.
Dickodownunder said
11:21 AM Apr 15, 2018
To all those above that are quoting that Aldi is a lesser service, yes you are correct as at this moment Aldi are not providing the full Telstra coverage so service may be less in some areas.
RosieW said
01:47 PM Apr 15, 2018
Dickodownunder wrote:
To all those above that are quoting that Aldi is a lesser service, yes you are correct as at this moment Aldi are not providing the full Telstra coverage so service may be less in some areas.
I may (or may not) switch again when we leave here. I went with Aldi to save money because no-one has service out here, but I want to keep the number active on those occasions we travel back to 'civilisation'....
Dickodownunder said
03:28 PM Apr 15, 2018
RosieW wrote:
Dickodownunder wrote:
To all those above that are quoting that Aldi is a lesser service, yes you are correct as at this moment Aldi are not providing the full Telstra coverage so service may be less in some areas.
I may (or may not) switch again when we leave here. I went with Aldi to save money because no-one has service out here, but I want to keep the number active on those occasions we travel back to 'civilisation'....
Hi RosieW
For many years due to having a business I was always on contracts which are post paid services which has many restrictions including the ability to negotiate or at least make a decision as to the service you may want to pay for depending on your usage and of course location.
Being retired I am a free agent and if the service I am on doesn't suit me in the future I just go somewhere else the next month and put the money I save in my pocket. Pre paid gives you this freedom.
Aldi have quite a reasonable service and obviously with the support that they provide it gives many users a great alternative.
We never know that one day Aldi or others may negotiate the same deal as Boost with Telstra..
Apart from all of this, for every Telstra client that leaves and goes to Boost or Aldi etc means that somone in Telstra may have to rethink how much they actually charge for their service...look how far we have come in the last few years.
Hylife said
09:22 PM Apr 15, 2018
Unfortunately, Telstra is the only carrier responsible for the provision of services under the communications guarantee legislation.
Every call you make irrespective of your carrier includes a small flagfall amount that is given to Telstra to provide services in areas where it would otherwise be commercially unviable.
This means in little 'blink and you miss it' places you may very well find a Telstra signal servicing just a handful of homes.
Surprisingly, neither Telstra nor the Australian Government have any satellites. They use Optus's (yes most of our military comms, Foxtel and VAST sat TV also use Optus's birds). They are located over Noumea. In some remote tourist locations (eg the likes of Windjana Gorge, WA) where there is no fixed wiring there are Telstra phone booths with a standard home phone bolted on the wall for you to use 1800 reverse over the Optus satellite system. If you have an Optus phone you can simply stand near the phone booth and you can receive great Optus signal.
You will also see in some highway rest areas a strange looking parabolic dish pointing horizontally with a post and platform a foot or so in front of it. These are carefully aimed at an over the horizon phone tower perhaps up to 100km away. You put your phone on speaker and place it on the platform to get a signal to make a call.
Otherwise the Optus coverage is only in towns and within 5 km of leaving you get nothing until the next town. Regardless of choosing Telstra or Optus (yes, there is only those two, everyone else is reselling them) most of the roads between towns will have next to zero coverage. If your phone is of the type that continually scans the bands looking for a signal you will find your phone's battery can be completely exhausted within 2 hours unless you turn it to flight mode until you enter the next town whereby you are inundated with messages.
CAUTION:
Many of the reseller deals provided by the likes of ALDI or Boost do NOT have the complete coverage that the parent carrier offers. IE, there arrangements may only be for coverage in certain areas and you may also find that outside of capital cities the deal may mean that the cost of calls and data is priced at a much higher rate. EG Vodaphone roams onto Telstra or Optus outside of Sydney Melbourne or Brisbane at twice the call and data rate, and even then only to major regional towns.
If you normally use Optus at home, I recommend you go buy a $99 Chinese made smart phone such as a ZTE from a Telstra shop and top up with prepaid amounts and use that for calls and data (turn on the phone's hotspot feature to use your laptop or tablet on WiFi) when your Optus coverage lets you down
-- Edited by Hylife on Sunday 15th of April 2018 09:40:51 PM
Dickodownunder said
08:02 AM Apr 16, 2018
For those that have obviously NOT read the link from my post above here is a screenshot of the quote re service of Boost.
The coverage maps on Boost's own website show that they do NOT give coverage to all areas that Telstra does. For example Telstra now covers Cape Range National Park, the Boost coverage maps at boost.com.au/coverage-map/ both 4g and 3g show it has no coverage there. While Boost may be a great provider in many ways, it is wrong information to say that they cover all of the Telstra remote areas, they don't, nor do they claim to. Harrison Astbury has it wrong.
Dickodownunder said
11:20 AM Apr 16, 2018
With respect Meridith the maps provided on the internet can not be completely accurate due to the different scales of service offered on the Telstra maps compared to the others. (Boost)
The dates that are are published also varies greatly but if you are currently at Cape Range and you can vouch for Telstra working and Boost not working with all other things being equal like identical suitable phones and not using aerials etc then I concede that the author has told a lie and the Boost people have told a lie as well.
There are other topics on this forum in which other documentation has been revealed but if what you say is true then these statements have been lies as well.
To the members who are considering the different services then I suggest you try Boost or even Aldi if you wish to save money but if not just stick to Telstra.
Prepaid systems make it very easy and economical to change providers if even only for a month or two....well that is what I did anyway.
Rob Driver said
09:56 AM Apr 17, 2018
Hi
I have read with interest and in some cases disappointment, at the negativity with how this subject has been handled on this forum.
Not only in this topic but some others that I have read just recently.
My experience and previous history comes from the transport side of operations rather than the home and then Caravan travel experience.
We operated 3 trucks, one my husband operated most of the time and two trucks that we had regular and reliable drivers operating throughout most of Australia including Sydney Melbourne Adelaide Perth Darwin and Brisbane and north Qld.
Phones and data were always in the forefront when it came to service and cost.
Prior to about 2013 we only relied on Telstra because they were the only provider that actually provided.
At around the beginning of 2014 one of our drivers changed his phone provider from Telstra to Boost and my husband immediately lost it, stating that we would never have contact with him.
I had to remain open minded and just went along to see how it all worked.
We already had high gain aerials fitted to the 3 trucks for the telstra provider and after three months we noticed no real difference with the drivers phone service.
As the two drivers were responsible for their own phones and they used them both privately and for company use (we subsidised their company use) the second company driver went to Boost as well.
With the new rest and driving regulations they both enjoyed the monetary savings they made while they were parked up watching movies and being able to talk to loved ones without financial penalty.
They both boasted to me about how much they were saving but knew not to mention too much about it to my husband.
We noticed no difference except for the grizzling of my hubby telling us all that this will fail.
It is funny now, but it reminds me of some on this forum with no offence meant.
You are forgiven!! :)
Another year went by and I changed hubbies phone to Boost and even he, as sceptical as what he did not notice any difference.
I was not confident enough to change our work office Telstra service as I really could not find a reasonable alternative and it was a landline service as well.
We have now sold the trucks and retired and have been using the Boost service on the road on our personal travels for well over a year without any problems.
I renew the service on both our phones every 28 days which is different to the 30 days on other services but the money we save is well worth it if compared to telstra.
To the people who are still claiming that the others are a lesser service then I really suggest you actually have a look.
At the time our drivers reported that other services like Aldi provided little service in some mining areas, particularly in WA as that was the deal that Aldi had with telstra.
Their other comments were that a Telstra service was the only provider that worked when they needed it.
It doesnt take them long to work just where reception will work.
These drivers talk amongst themselves and with many others while on the road and generally know how things really work.
If you feel you need a phone service in an area that is not serviced by telstra and Boost then you really need to go and get a Satellite Phone.
To the people that have offered alternatives I back you completely as we were in doubt until testing the service for ourselves.
To the original post, if you are still listening telstra is the best service but you do not necessarily have to pay their prices.
Try2findus said
08:26 AM Apr 24, 2018
Thanks Angie, a good wrap up. Thanks also to all those who joined in on the discussion.
PeterD said
09:31 AM Apr 25, 2018
Does Boost match these prices (just came up I have not had to check and I am going away for the day.)
Now to answer rockets enquiry these are the Boost maps for Qld showing both 3G and 4G coverage.
Please note that so to achieve a facsimile of the Telstra map these two maps will need to be overlaid and even then they do not include the areas where Telstra advise to use an aerial to recieve signal
One is for the 3G coverage and one is for the 4G coverage.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Sunday 15th of April 2018 11:10:19 AM
Thanks for all the replies and discussions. I see what you mean Geoff, the coverage maps are not a fair comparison. I read on the Boost site, as someone has already pointed out on here, that Boost does use 100% of Telstras network, but they have a slower speed cap than the full Telstra access. Does this matter??? We are supposed to be on holidays aren't we? But I guess for those that stream movies this could cause a problem. The research and procrastinations continue.....
For the rest of the community here are the maps of Australia relevant to the Boost service.
One again they will be needed to be overlaid to achieve what Telstra display and still keep in mind that the Telstra map also includes the areas where they say you will need an aerial for the service to work.
Yes! They were good - access to the entire Telstra network, and a lot cheaper, although just as painful to deal with...
I was on Boost for a while - didn't stream videos. But I did Google, email, use Wikicamps as well as make calls and send texts. They were as good as Telstra for that.
Boost worked in Mitchell QLD, but Aldi doesn't. Cunnamulla & Cobar same deal. Although that could have been weather with Aldi - it was ****e (the weather)...
Hi Penny,
Thank you for your understanding.
We have had Netflix for about 18 months and stream or download movies and docos regularly and we have not noticed any difference whatsoever with the capped speed of Boost compared to Telstra.
In fact I would go as far as to say that Telstra at times slow the speed to their paying customers when it suits them.
If I were a 15 year old "gamer" then maybe I would have to stay home and play games while hooked onto the Telstra NBN but for us (me and the wife) old grey dudes roaming around the countryside then the Boost service, at least for me, is fine.
I may (or may not) switch again when we leave here. I went with Aldi to save money because no-one has service out here, but I want to keep the number active on those occasions we travel back to 'civilisation'....
Hi RosieW
For many years due to having a business I was always on contracts which are post paid services which has many restrictions including the ability to negotiate or at least make a decision as to the service you may want to pay for depending on your usage and of course location.
Being retired I am a free agent and if the service I am on doesn't suit me in the future I just go somewhere else the next month and put the money I save in my pocket. Pre paid gives you this freedom.
Aldi have quite a reasonable service and obviously with the support that they provide it gives many users a great alternative.
We never know that one day Aldi or others may negotiate the same deal as Boost with Telstra..
Apart from all of this, for every Telstra client that leaves and goes to Boost or Aldi etc means that somone in Telstra may have to rethink how much they actually charge for their service...look how far we have come in the last few years.
Unfortunately, Telstra is the only carrier responsible for the provision of services under the communications guarantee legislation.
Every call you make irrespective of your carrier includes a small flagfall amount that is given to Telstra to provide services in areas where it would otherwise be commercially unviable.
This means in little 'blink and you miss it' places you may very well find a Telstra signal servicing just a handful of homes.
Surprisingly, neither Telstra nor the Australian Government have any satellites. They use Optus's (yes most of our military comms, Foxtel and VAST sat TV also use Optus's birds). They are located over Noumea.
In some remote tourist locations (eg the likes of Windjana Gorge, WA) where there is no fixed wiring there are Telstra phone booths with a standard home phone bolted on the wall for you to use 1800 reverse over the Optus satellite system.
If you have an Optus phone you can simply stand near the phone booth and you can receive great Optus signal.
You will also see in some highway rest areas a strange looking parabolic dish pointing horizontally with a post and platform a foot or so in front of it.
These are carefully aimed at an over the horizon phone tower perhaps up to 100km away. You put your phone on speaker and place it on the platform to get a signal to make a call.
Otherwise the Optus coverage is only in towns and within 5 km of leaving you get nothing until the next town.
Regardless of choosing Telstra or Optus (yes, there is only those two, everyone else is reselling them) most of the roads between towns will have next to zero coverage.
If your phone is of the type that continually scans the bands looking for a signal you will find your phone's battery can be completely exhausted within 2 hours unless you turn it to flight mode until you enter the next town whereby you are inundated with messages.
CAUTION:
Many of the reseller deals provided by the likes of ALDI or Boost do NOT have the complete coverage that the parent carrier offers. IE, there arrangements may only be for coverage in certain areas and you may also find that outside of capital cities the deal may mean that the cost of calls and data is priced at a much higher rate.
EG Vodaphone roams onto Telstra or Optus outside of Sydney Melbourne or Brisbane at twice the call and data rate, and even then only to major regional towns.
If you normally use Optus at home, I recommend you go buy a $99 Chinese made smart phone such as a ZTE from a Telstra shop and top up with prepaid amounts and use that for calls and data (turn on the phone's hotspot feature to use your laptop or tablet on WiFi) when your Optus coverage lets you down
-- Edited by Hylife on Sunday 15th of April 2018 09:40:51 PM
For those that have obviously NOT read the link from my post above here is a screenshot of the quote re service of Boost.
https://www.canstarblue.com.au/phone/boost-mobile-vs-telstra-phone-plans-compared/
The dates that are are published also varies greatly but if you are currently at Cape Range and you can vouch for Telstra working and Boost not working with all other things being equal like identical suitable phones and not using aerials etc then I concede that the author has told a lie and the Boost people have told a lie as well.
There are other topics on this forum in which other documentation has been revealed but if what you say is true then these statements have been lies as well.
To the members who are considering the different services then I suggest you try Boost or even Aldi if you wish to save money but if not just stick to Telstra.
Prepaid systems make it very easy and economical to change providers if even only for a month or two....well that is what I did anyway.
I have read with interest and in some cases disappointment, at the negativity with how this subject has been handled on this forum.
Not only in this topic but some others that I have read just recently.
My experience and previous history comes from the transport side of operations rather than the home and then Caravan travel experience.
We operated 3 trucks, one my husband operated most of the time and two trucks that we had regular and reliable drivers operating throughout most of Australia including Sydney Melbourne Adelaide Perth Darwin and Brisbane and north Qld.
Phones and data were always in the forefront when it came to service and cost.
Prior to about 2013 we only relied on Telstra because they were the only provider that actually provided.
At around the beginning of 2014 one of our drivers changed his phone provider from Telstra to Boost and my husband immediately lost it, stating that we would never have contact with him.
I had to remain open minded and just went along to see how it all worked.
We already had high gain aerials fitted to the 3 trucks for the telstra provider and after three months we noticed no real difference with the drivers phone service.
As the two drivers were responsible for their own phones and they used them both privately and for company use (we subsidised their company use) the second company driver went to Boost as well.
With the new rest and driving regulations they both enjoyed the monetary savings they made while they were parked up watching movies and being able to talk to loved ones without financial penalty.
They both boasted to me about how much they were saving but knew not to mention too much about it to my husband.
We noticed no difference except for the grizzling of my hubby telling us all that this will fail.
It is funny now, but it reminds me of some on this forum with no offence meant.
You are forgiven!! :)
Another year went by and I changed hubbies phone to Boost and even he, as sceptical as what he did not notice any difference.
I was not confident enough to change our work office Telstra service as I really could not find a reasonable alternative and it was a landline service as well.
We have now sold the trucks and retired and have been using the Boost service on the road on our personal travels for well over a year without any problems.
I renew the service on both our phones every 28 days which is different to the 30 days on other services but the money we save is well worth it if compared to telstra.
To the people who are still claiming that the others are a lesser service then I really suggest you actually have a look.
At the time our drivers reported that other services like Aldi provided little service in some mining areas, particularly in WA as that was the deal that Aldi had with telstra.
Their other comments were that a Telstra service was the only provider that worked when they needed it.
It doesnt take them long to work just where reception will work.
These drivers talk amongst themselves and with many others while on the road and generally know how things really work.
If you feel you need a phone service in an area that is not serviced by telstra and Boost then you really need to go and get a Satellite Phone.
To the people that have offered alternatives I back you completely as we were in doubt until testing the service for ourselves.
To the original post, if you are still listening telstra is the best service but you do not necessarily have to pay their prices.
Does Boost match these prices (just came up I have not had to check and I am going away for the day.)
Home Broadband Plans
PeterD
You could phone them and ask but to my knowledge they deal only in mobile service and new phones (if required).
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Wednesday 25th of April 2018 10:38:41 AM
Hi PeterD
<< Does Boost match these prices (just came up I have not had to check and I am going away for the day.) >>
No Boost does not match those prices.
For the latest Boost plans and charges go to this link
https://boost.com.au/plans-2/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8N-L9vjU2gIVhWG9Ch0mlAQxEAAYASAAEgJfhfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds