Destinations
Internet in Australia: excellent cities and an enormous interior
Good network along the coast and hundreds of kilometres with nothing inland. What to expect depending on the route and what to prepare before leaving the city.
Rubén Ortega 6 min Photo by Caleb on Unsplash Australia follows the same pattern as the United States, taken to the extreme: the east coast is perfectly covered and the interior is so vast that coverage simply runs out.
By area
| Where | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth | Wide 5G |
| East coast and main roads | Good 4G with short gaps |
| Great Ocean Road and tourist areas | Fine in the towns |
| Outback and interior | Very long stretches with nothing |
| National parks | From little to none |
Inland, the difference between operators is genuinely large: one network has far more rural coverage than the others, and on an outback route that decides the trip. Which network each plan uses is on the technical sheet of its page.
Driving through the interior
If the route leaves the coast, you prepare it like a crossing: maps downloaded, full tank, water, and tell someone your plan for the day. The distances between services are greater than a European reckons on looking at the map.
There are stretches where a rented satellite phone is the sensible thing, and anyone who lives there will tell you so.
What you will use
Between 300 and 700 MB a day on a cities-and-coast trip. On the road it drops, because for a good share of the time there is no signal, and instead the need for maps and music downloaded in advance goes up.
How a route like that is prepared is in internet on a road trip.
And the emergency alerts
In bushfire season official alerts arrive on the phone, and there are state tracking apps worth installing if you travel in the southern summer. This is not alarmism: it is what everyone there does.
Frequently asked questions
Is coverage good in Australia?
Excellent in the big cities and good along the east coast and main roads. In the outback and in national parks there are very long stretches without signal.
Does it matter which network my plan uses?
In the city no, inland a great deal: one network has considerably more rural coverage than the others. It is on the technical sheet of the page.
How many gigabytes do I need?
Between 300 and 700 MB a day on a cities-and-coast trip, so around 5 to 10 GB over two weeks.
What do I prepare for the interior?
Maps downloaded, water, a full tank and telling someone your plan for the day. On remote stretches, a rented satellite phone is the reasonable choice.
