Mobile Networks - Aldi Vs Optus

Dee_Tony · Member

Mobile Networks - Aldi Vs Optus

Whenarewethere · Guru

We are both on Boost (Telstra, as is Aldi) 12 month $200 ea, was $150 previous 12 months.

If you don't use much data 12 month pre pay are good value. Coles now have a few cheap 12 month prepay. I might look at them in a few months time.

If you are very remote Telstra has a bit more coverage. You can look up the network coverage maps.

Cuppa · Guru

Aldi uses Telstras wholesale network, Boost uses the full Telstra network. This means coverage is better with Boost than all the rest of the others (including Aldi) who use Telstra. For access to the full Telstra network you only have two choices. Telstra or Boost.

Are We Lost · Guru

Cuppa wrote:
Aldi uses Telstras wholesale network, Boost uses the full Telstra network. This means coverage is better with Boost than all the rest of the others (including Aldi) who use Telstra. For access to the full Telstra network you only have two choices. Telstra or Boost.

As Cuppa said, all the Telstra resellers except Boost use the Telstra Wholesale network. Cuppa said "coverage is better with Boost". I think that is very much an understatement if you are talking about remote areas. The Telstra Wholesale network misses coverage by a huge margin. If you are in populated areas then there is not much difference.

Here is a coverage map that shows the difference. Scroll down to the second map and use the slider to show the difference.

Here is an example from outback QLD and NSW.

Telstra/Boost

Aldi and others on Wholesale

bristte · Veteran Member

Occasionally there are places with only Optus, or where Optus is faster. Not often, but it does happen. Sometimes because the Telstra tower is overloaded even though in theory it's faster than the Optus one. I travel with both Boost and Optus SIMs. I wouldn't consider any Telstra reseller other than Boost.

Mike Harding · Guru

bristte wrote:
I wouldn't consider any Telstra reseller other than Boost.

It depends....

I have a Boost SIM in my tablet (phablet) and a Woolworth Mobile (WWM) SIM in my phone.

Boost, as mentioned, has access to the whole Telstra network whereas WWM had access to the lesser "Wholesale" part of it. I paid $175 for the Boost SIM on eBay with 140GB of data over 12 months. I paid $150 for the WWM SIM with 100GB of data over 12 months. Both deals include unlimited calls and texts and Boost includes some free overseas calls too. There is no discernable difference in speed or bandwidth between the two carriers although there will be areas of the country where Boost is available but WWM is not, I have not found such an area in Victoria or southern NSW.

In reality my WWM SIM is free, indeed I make a profit from it, as once a month it entities me to 10% off my Woolworth food shopping, this discount usually amounts to around $30 so I'm in profit by about $17 per month and have an extra 100GB of data to boot!

I suspect the Telstra Wholesale network will suit most people most of the time but Boost is nice to have.

Tony Bev · Guru

Hi Dee Tony

I have the Aldi mobile, 12 month pre paid, $159 for 130 GB plan

If you look at the Aldi mobile coverage map, it is fairly accurate

There are plenty of places, where there is no Aldi coverage, but the wife gets Telstra coverage

I was unable to hotspot my Aldi mobile phone, (on a tablet), to my laptop

But was able to hotspot my wife phone, to her tablet

I know nothing about Optus

Hope that this info is useful to you

PeterInSa · Guru

Nullarbor Station Fuel Stop, 4 bars on my Aldi ( Not Full Telstra Access) phone but could not make a call, so used my Telstra (Bush) phone. Did not need the aerial connection or an aerial.

Meredith · Senior Member

Aldi on the Telstra wholesale network has no coverage at all across the Nullabor, just one of the many areas it doesn't work where full Telstra network does. Really unless you stick purely to the east coast it isn't a viable option.

Mike Harding · Guru

Meredith wrote:
Aldi on the Telstra wholesale network has no coverage at all across the Nullabor, just one of the many areas it doesn't work where full Telstra network does. Really unless you stick purely to the east coast it isn't a viable option.

Perhaps. But ensure your handset is capable of receiving band 28 otherwise you will suffer in the country irrespective.

bristte · Veteran Member

Mike Harding wrote:
... although there will be areas of the country where Boost is available but WWM is not, I have not found such an area in Victoria or southern NSW.

Wilcannia and Menindee come quickly to mind. And a certain farm stay on the west bank of the (now-flooded) Darling midway between them where there's a weak but usable signal. There are maps around showing the difference between the retail and wholesale networks. It tends to be in more remote regions. If you don't travel to the regions where there's only the retail network then using the wholesale network isn't a problem.

86GTS · Senior Member

Meredith wrote:
Aldi on the Telstra wholesale network has no coverage at all across the Nullabor, just one of the many areas it doesn't work where full Telstra network does. Really unless you stick purely to the east coast it isn't a viable option.

That's exactly why we've used Telstra for the past 13 years of travel to many remote locations all over Australia. If there's a signal it works.

As an aside, Aldi personal insect repellent doesn't work, it actually attracts insects. biggrin

Cuppa · Guru

86GTS wrote:

That's exactly why we've used Telstra for the past 13 years of travel to many remote locations all over Australia. If there's a signal it works.

And that's exactly why we've used Boost for the past 6 years, because we tend to travel in remote areas, & get the same as with Telstra but at a lower cost.

Of course many remote areas have no phone signal of any sort ......... we are waiting to see what Starlink will be like when a lot more folk are using it. It's tempting even though expensive. Imagine being truly remote but still having internet, (& no need for a satphone any more). Mmmmmmmm. Telstra/Boost wifi calling is reputed to work very well with Starlink.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Friday 6th of January 2023 11:30:17 AM

Dee_Tony · Member

Thank you to everyone that responded. It's certainly a confusing issue. I suspect we'll stay with our current provider as our only real concerns with them at the moment is cost which, to be honest, is not exorbitant. Living off a pension and our rapidly diminishing super we were just looking to save a few dollars each month. However, there's times when cheap is dear, as my long gone old granny used to say. Thanks again, Dee (& Tony)

Whenarewethere · Guru

Look how much you are using each month. If you are not streaming & only look at the occasional YouTube video. 100GB a year should be enough. We previously had 80GB a year & that was enough.

The monthly prepay are usually 28 days, so that is basically 13 x to make up a year. Another little bit of extortion!

Whenarewethere · Guru

86GTS wrote:
Meredith wrote:
Aldi on the Telstra wholesale network has no coverage at all across the Nullabor, just one of the many areas it doesn't work where full Telstra network does. Really unless you stick purely to the east coast it isn't a viable option.
That's exactly why we've used Telstra for the past 13 years of travel to many remote locations all over Australia. If there's a signal it works.
As an aside, Aldi personal insect repellent doesn't work, it actually attracts insects.

We have been told this works really well. Haven't actually tried it ourselves.

Equine Super Goo, they put it on horses bums.

https://aussiesaddlery.com.au/equine-super-goo-extra-strength-fly-and-insect-repellent-500ml/