Australia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 21 Feb 2025 Update History

Report Status: Current

Report Pages: 258

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Contact BuddeComm

Purchase this Report

Summary
Table Of Contents

Australia’s NBN nears completion and data rates are raised

The Australian fixed telecom sector continues its steady migration from copper to fibre infrastructure, in line with the efforts of NBN Co to furnish the nation’s premises with fibre. The company recently completed its fixed-wireless upgrade program, and the switch of customers to this network has released capacity for its Sky Muster satellites. At the same time, NBN Co has focussed on upgrading FttN and FttC connections to FttP. From September 2025, new modems will be marketed which can make use of a 2Gb/s service.

Penetration in the fixed-line market has been falling steadily over the past few years. A major reason for this is the dominance of the mobile segment and the growth of mobile broadband, compounded by the popularity of OTT messaging services which are substituting for voice calls. By the end of 2024 only 15% of Australians made fixed-line voice calls, compared to 98% who used mobile phones and a similar proportion who used messaging services.

There has been some consolidation in the market through the merger of the key players VHA and TPG, as also a number of acquisitions involving fixed-line suppliers. The second-tier market continues to grow strongly although it has eased off to some degree.

Within the Australian fixed broadband market, there is a dynamic shift among customers to fibre networks. The DSL sector is steadily shrinking as customers are migrated to the NBN, while subscribers on HFC infrastructure will continue to be served within the NBN’s multi-technology mix, though also with a steady migration to full fibre connectivity.

The mobile market is dominated by the three MNOs Telstra, Optus, and TPG Telecom. These offer LTE services on a wholesale basis, thus encouraging growth in the LTE sector, while also widely deploying services based on 5G. Services based on 3G were closed down in October 2024, with the MNOs since being able to repurpose spectrum and physical assets for 5G.

Key developments:

Government and NBN Co to provide $3.8 billion to upgrade the remaining 622,000 premises from FttN to FttP.
NBN CO completes its fixed wireless and satellite upgrade program.
MNOs complete 3G network shutdown.
Applications are opened for Round 8 of the Mobile Black Spot Program.
TPG Telecom’s regional network sharing arrangement with Optus comes into effect.
Report update includes operator data to September 2024, ACMA market data updates to December 2024, recent market developments.

Key companies mentioned in this report:

42-24, AARNET, Aldi Mobile, amaysim, Austar, ACCC, ACMA, Aware Super, Basslink Telecoms, Bechtel, Boost Mobile, BTB Australia, Fibercorp, H2 Cable, Hawaiki Submarine Cable, Hayu, Hulu, iiNet, Indosat Ooredoo, Inmarsat, Kogan, Lebara Mobile, Linfox, LoRa Alliance, M2, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), Macquarie Telecom, NBN Co, New Skies Satellite, O3b, Omantel, OneWeb, OPENetworks, OptiComm, OPT-NC, Optus, Ovo Mobile, PCCW, Pivit, Primus, RedTrain, SingTel, Softbank, SpaceX, Spark New Zealand, TasNetworks, Telstra, Thinxtra, TPG Telecom, TransACT, Uniti Group, Unwired, VHA, Viasat, Virgin Mobile, Vocus

Key statistics
Telecommunications market

Market overview and analysis

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authorities
Fixed-line developments

Number portability
Alternative voice services trials program (AVST)
Mobile Black Spot Program
Telecommunications Act 1997 amendments
Universal Service Obligation (USO)
Standards, rules, and benchmarks related to the country’s statutory infrastructure providers (SIP)

Mobile market developments

Mobile number portability
Spectrum ownership and licences
Fifteen-year spectrum licence pathway
Additional spectrum 5G
Spectrum auctions

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

Operator market share
Prepaid and postpaid subscribers
Mobile services revenue
Average revenue per user (ARPU)
Mobile voice
Mobile broadband

Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
3G
GSM
Other infrastructure developments

Major mobile operators

Telstra
Optus
TPG Telecom
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Mobile handsets

Wearables and smartwatches

Fixed-line broadband market

Market analysis
Fixed broadband statistics
National Broadband Network (NBN)

Overview and statistics
Pricing
Fixed wireless networks
Co-investment with regional governments
NBN Co’s satellite network

Fibre networks

Major players

G.fast and XG.fast
HFC networks
DSL
Wi-Fi
Satellite
Fixed broadband service providers

Telstra
Optus
TPG Telecom
Vocus
Macquarie Telecom
Uniti Group Limited (UWL)
HyperOne

Digital economy

Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart city projects
E-government

Telecommunications infrastructure

National telecom network

SMAP

International infrastructure

Submarine cables
Satellite

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities- Australia – 2025 (e)
Table 2 – Total telecom market retail revenue by service ($ billion) – 2012 – 2020
Table 3 – Total telecoms market - annual growth by service – 2012 – 2020
Table 4 – Total telecoms market - market share by service – 2012 – 2020
Table 5 – Telecom revenue by major provider (A$ billion) – 2014 – 2024
Table 6 – Annual growth in telecom revenue by major provider – 2015 – 2024
Table 7 – Market share of telecom revenue by major provider – 2014 – 2024
Table 8 – Second-tier telcos’ revenue and annual change – 2012 – 2024
Table 9 – Second-tier telcos’ revenue by provider (A$ million) – 2014 – 2021
Table 10 – Fixed numbers ported – 2010 – 2019
Table 11 – Mobile numbers ported – 2010 – 2019
Exhibit 5 – Expiring spectrum allocation timetable 2015
Table 12 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 13 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 14 – Annual change of the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2023
Table 15 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 16 – Change in the number of prepaid subscribers by operator (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 17 – MNO market share of prepaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 18 – Change in the number of postpaid subscribers by operator (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 19 – MNO market share of postpaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 20 – Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid subscribers (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 21 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and postpaid subscribers – 2009 – 2023
Table 22 – Prepaid as proportion of total mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 23 – Postpaid as proportion of total mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 24 – Mobile market revenue per major operator (A$ billion) – 2012 – 2024
Table 25 – Mobile market revenue market share per major operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 26 – Annual change of mobile market revenue per major operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 27 – Change in Telstra’s mobile ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2012 – 2024
Table 28 – Change in Optus’s mobile ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2012 – 2024
Table 29 – Change in Vodafone Australia’s ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2015 – 2019
Table 30 – Development of TPG’s mobile ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2019 – 2024
Table 31 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 32 – Increase in the number of Telstra’s mobile broadband subscribers (thousand) – 2012 – 2024
Table 33 – Estimated revenue growth for private mobile networks – 2020 – 2027
Table 34 – Mobile broadband subscribers by MNO (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 35 – Estimated mobile broadband data downloaded in Petabytes – 2012 – 2022
Table 36 – Development of Telstra Group’s financial data (A$ billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 37 – Development of Telstra’s mobile prepaid and postpaid revenue (A$ million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 38 – Development of Telstra’s mobile revenue by type (A$ billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 39 – Change in the number of Telstra’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 40 – Development of Optus’s mobile revenue (A$ billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 41 – Change in the number of Optus’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 42 – Change in the number of Optus’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 43 – Development of Vodafone Australia’s revenue (A$ billion) – 2012 – 2019
Table 44 – Change in the number of Vodafone Australia’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 45 – Change in the number of TPG Telecom’s mobile subscribers (thousand) – 2014 – 2024
Table 46 – Change in the number of TPG Group’s mobile subscribers – 2019 – 2024
Table 47 – Development of TPG Telecom’s mobile revenue by service (A$ billion) – 2019 – 2024
Table 48 – Increase in the number of Belong Mobile’s mobile subscribers – 2018 – 2024
Table 49 – Development of amaysim’s mobile financial data (A$ million) – 2016 – 2021
Table 50 – Change in the number of amaysim’s mobile subscribers – 2014 – 2021
Table 51 – Australian handset platform market share – 2017 – 2020
Table 52 – Fixed broadband retail subscribers by major provider (thousand) – 2012 – 2024
Table 53 – Fixed broadband retail subscriber annual growth by major provider – 2012 – 2024
Table 54 – Fixed broadband retail subscribers market share by major provider – 2012 – 2020
Table 55 – Change in the number of Telstra’s retail and wholesale broadband subscribers (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 56 – Fixed broadband subscribers by access type (million) – 2012 – 2020
Table 57 – Fixed broadband subscriber annual growth – 2012 – 2019
Table 58 – Wireless broadband subscribers by access type (thousand) – 2012 – 2023
Table 59 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 60 – Change in the average data downloaded per month per subscriber – 2021 – 2023
Table 61 – Volume of data downloaded by access type (TB) – 2013 – 2023
Table 62 – NBN premises activated or ready to connect (thousand) – 2012 – 2024
Table 63 – Development of NBN Co’s revenue – 2013 – 2025
Table 64 – Change in NBN Co’s annualised ARPU – 2013 – 2025
Table 65 – Change in NBN Co’s fibre capex (A$ million) – 2013 – 2020
Table 66 – Change in NBN Co’s HFC, wireless, other capex (A$ million) – 2013 – 2020
Table 67 – Change in NBN Co’s total capex – 2012 – 2025
Table 68 – Growth in the number of NBN Co’s fibre connections by platform (thousand) – 2016 – 2024
Table 69 – Growth in the number of NBN Co’s HFC, wireless, satellite connections (thousand) – 2016 – 2024
Table 70 – Change in the number of NBN Co’s total NBN and DSL connections (million) – 2016 – 2023
Table 71 – Change in the number of NBN connections by provider – 2021 – 2024
Table 72 – Change in the share of NBN Co’s connections by platform – 2016 – 2024
Table 73 – NBN’s FttP connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 74 – NBN’s FttN connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 75 – NBN’s FttC connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 76 – NBN’s HFC connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 77 – NBN’s fixed-wireless connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 78 – Market share of NBN’s connections by provider – December 2023
Table 79 – Change in the proportion of data traffic downloads by connection type – 2020 – 2023
Table 80 – NBN’s satellite connections by major operator – 2020 - 2024
Table 81 – Growth in the number of FttP subscribers – 2016 – 2024
Table 82 – Growth in the number of FttC subscribers – 2018 – 2024
Table 83 – Change in the number of NBN’s HFC connections – 2016 – 2024
Table 84 – Change in the number of DSL broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 85 – Change in the number of Telstra’s broadband subscribers by type (million) – 2018 – 2024
Table 86 – Change in the number of Optus’s broadband connections by type (thousand) – 2013 – 2024
Table 87 – Development of TPG’s financial data (A$ million) – 2012 – 2019
Table 88 – Development of TPG Group’s financial data (A$ billion) – 2019 – 2024
Table 89 – TPG Telecom’s revenue by division (A$ million) – 2012 – 2019
Table 90 – Development of TPG Group’s revenue by division (A$ million) – 2020 – 2024
Table 91 – TPG’s broadband ARPU (A$ / month) – 2016 – 2023
Table 92 – Change in the number of TPG’s consumer broadband subscribers (thousand) by product – 2019 – 2024
Table 93 – Vocus Australia - consumer broadband subscribers (thousand) – 2018 – 2021
Table 94 – Development of Vocus Group’s financial data (A$ million) – 2012 – 2021
Table 95 – Development of Macquarie Telecom’s financial data (A$ million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 96 – Development of Macquarie Telecom’s revenue by sector (A$ million) – 2020 – 2024
Table 97– Decline in the number of fixed-line subscriptions and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 98 – Historic - Pay TV revenue by major operator ($ million) – 1997 – 2017
Table 99 – Historic - Blended monthly ARPU by MNO ($/subscriber/month) – 2000 – 2010
Table 100 – Historic - Total telecoms market - retail revenue by service ($ million) – 2001 – 2015
Table 101 – Historic - Total telecoms revenues by smaller operators, and total ($ billion) – 2005 – 2013
Table 102 – Historic - Total telecoms revenues by major providers ($ billion) – 2000 – 2011
Table 103 – Historic - Second-tier telcos – revenue by provider – 2010 – 2014
Table 104 – Historic - Second-tier telcos – revenue by provider (historic) – 2004 – 2007
Table 105 – Historic - Total business and residential broadband subscribers (thousand) – 2006 – 2014
Table 106 – Historic - Annual change of mobile subscribers by carrier – 1995 – 2011
Table 107 – Historic - Retail mobile subscriber market share by MNO and MVNO – 2015 – 2016
Table 108 – Historic - Share of prepaid subscribers by MNO and MVNO – 2014 – 2015
Table 109 – Historic - Share of postpaid subscribers by MNO and MVNO – 2014 – 2015
Table 110 – Historic - Total mobile services market revenue and annual change – 1995 – 2010
Table 111 – Historic - Mobile subscribers, penetration, and annual change – 2000 – 2011
Table 112 – Historic - HTA key metrics ($ million) – 2009 – 2015
Table 113 – Historic - Monthly ARPU and by segment ($/subscriber/month) – 2009 – 2012
Table 114 – Historic - Vodafone Australia revenue – 1996 – 2011
Table 115 – Historic - VHA MVNO customers – 2014 – 2016
Table 116 – Historic - Telstra Group’s financial data – 2008 – 2011
Table 117 – Historic - Telstra’s mobile ARPU - prepaid, postpaid, mobile broadband (A$/subscriber/month) – 2009 – 2011
Table 118 – Historic - Optus’s mobile subscribers and annual change – 2009 – 2011
Table 119 – Historic - Retail mobile subscribers share by MNO and MVNO – 2016 – 2017
Table 120 – Historic - Retail mobile subscribers share by MNO and MVNO – 2013 – 2015
Table 121 – Historic – NBN’s revenue by type (A$ million) – 2013 – 2017
Table 122 – Historic – Wireless broadband subscribers by access type (thousand) – 2012 – 2018
Table 123 – Historic – Internet subscribers by download speed – 2016 – 2018
Table 124 – Historic - M2’s acquisitions – 2005 – 2015

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Total telecom market retail revenue by service – 2012 – 2020
Chart 2 – Total telecoms market - market share by service – 2012 – 2020
Chart 3 – Telecom revenue by major provider – 2014 – 2024
Chart 4 – Market share of telecom revenue by major provider – 2014 – 2024
Chart 5 – Second-tier telcos’ revenue and annual change – 2012 – 2024
Chart 6 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 7 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 8 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 9 – Change in the number of prepaid subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 10 – MNO market share of prepaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 11 – Change in the number of postpaid subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 12 – MNO market share of postpaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 13 – Change in the number of prepaid and postpaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 14 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and postpaid subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 15 – Mobile market revenue per major operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 16 – Mobile market revenue market share per major operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 17 – Change in Telstra’s mobile ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2012 – 2023
Chart 18 – Change in Optus’s mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2024
Chart 19 – Development of TPG’s mobile ARPU (A$/subscriber/month) – 2019 – 2024
Chart 20 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 21 – Mobile broadband subscribers by MNO – 2012 – 2024
Chart 22 – Development of Telstra Group’s financial data – 2012 – 2025
Chart 23 – Development of Telstra’s mobile prepaid and postpaid revenue – 2012 – 2025
Chart 24 – Development of Telstra’s mobile revenue by type – 2012 – 2025
Chart 25 – Change in the number of Telstra’s mobile subscribers by type – 2012 – 2025
Chart 26 – Development of Optus’s mobile revenue – 2012 – 2025
Chart 27 – Change in the number of Optus’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 28 – Change in the number of Optus’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2024
Chart 29 – Change in the number of Vodafone Australia’s mobile subscribers by type – 2012 – 2024
Chart 30 – Change in the number of TPG Telecom’s mobile subscribers (thousand) – 2014 – 2024
Chart 31 – Development of TPG Telecom’s mobile revenue by service – 2019 – 2024
Chart 32 – Fixed broadband subscribers by access type – 2012 – 2020
Chart 33 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 34 – NBN premises activated or ready to connect – 2012 – 2024
Chart 35 – Development of NBN Co’s revenue – 2013 – 2025
Chart 36 – Change in NBN Co’s fibre capex – 2013 – 2020
Chart 37 – Change in NBN Co’s HFC, wireless, other capex – 2013 – 2020
Chart 38 – Change in NBN Co’s total capex (A$ million) – 2012 – 2025
Chart 39 – Growth in the number of NBN Co’s fibre connections by platform – 2016 – 2024
Chart 40 – Growth in the number of NBN Co’s HFC, wireless, satellite connections – 2016 – 2024
Chart 41 – Change in the number of NBN Co’s total NBN and DSL connections – 2016 – 2024
Chart 42 – Change in the number of NBN connections by provider – 2021 – 2024
Chart 43 – Change in the share of NBN Co’s connections by platform – 2016 – 2024
Chart 44 – Change in the proportion of data traffic downloads by connection type – 2020 – 2023
Chart 45 – Change in the number of Telstra’s broadband subscribers by type (million) – 2018 – 2024
Chart 46 – Development of TPG Group’s financial data – 2019 – 2024
Chart 47 – Development of TPG Group’s revenue by division – 2020 – 2024
Chart 48 – Development of Vocus Group’s financial data – 2012 – 2021
Chart 49 – Development of Macquarie Telecom’s financial data – 2012 – 2024
Chart 50 – Development of Macquarie Telecom’s revenue by sector – 2020 – 2024
Chart 51– Decline in the number of fixed-line subscriptions and teledensity – 2012 – 2027

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Mobile spectrum by operator in capital city and regional area
Exhibit 2 – GSM services by operator
Exhibit 3 – WCDMA services by operator
Exhibit 4 – Ownership of selected frequencies for 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz services
Exhibit 6 – Spectrum charges for spectrum bandwidth licenses
Exhibit 7 – 1.8GHz spectrum auction results – 2016
Exhibit 8 – 700MHz and 2.5GHz auction results - 2013
Exhibit 9 - 1800MHz auction results – February 2016
Exhibit 10 – 3.6GHz spectrum awards - 2018
Exhibit 11 – 26GHz spectrum awards - 2021
Exhibit 12 – Australian MVNOs mobile carriers
Exhibit 13 – iiNet’s acquisitions – 2003 – 2014
Exhibit 14 – Australia region submarine cables
Exhibit 15 – Major submarine cables with landing points in Australia

Related Reports

Purchase this Report

Contact BuddeComm

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Monitor critical insights with our AI-powered Market Intelligence Platform gathering and analyzing intelligence in real time. With AI trained to spot emerging trends and detect new strategic opportunities, our clients use TMT Intelligence to accelerate their growth.

If you want to know more about it, please see:

TMT Intelligence Platform

Research Methodology

BuddeComm's strategic business reports contain a combination of both primary and secondary research statistics, analyses written by our senior analysts supported by a network of experts, industry contacts and researchers from around the world as well as our own scenario forecasts.

For more details, please see:

Research Methodology

More than 4,000 customers from 140 countries utilise BuddeComm Research

Are you interested in BuddeComm's Custom Research Service?

Hot Topics

News & Views

Have the latest telecommunications industry news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to BuddeComm's weekly newsletter.

Unsubscribe

Australia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Australia’s NBN nears completion and data rates are raised

Key developments:

Key companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital economy

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views