Is 5G in your area? Telstra releases new 5G coverage checker

Do you know if you’ve got 5G in your area? The rollout of new networks can be quite confusing, and you might be someone who’s seeing the 5G symbol fleetingly when you drive around.

Thankfully, Telstra customers can now make sure they’re in an area with 5G. Telstra’s 5G rollout is now visible through a tool, so now you can quickly and easily check if the new Telstra phone network is live in your street, suburb or town.

The Telstra 5G coverage checker shows users more than 2,000 5G sites across Telstra’s network. According to Telstra, 41% of Australia’s population are now living, working or passing through areas with 5G coverage, and the network is available in more than 1,400 suburbs across Australia, with 60+ cities now getting signals.

How can I check my Telstra 5G signal?

You can head on over to the Telstra website and check the signal in your area right now. You can also type in your address for an exact answer on whether 5G is live in your neighbourhood.

Here’s how the map looks on Australia’s east coast, showing Sydney to Newcastle. The map also shows areas that will be getting the new network soon, without a timeframe available. Typing in your address will pull up a table showing what’s available in your area.

The coverage map showing 5G signals from Sydney to Newcastle on the Australian east coast

Telstra postpaid plans

Right now, the only way you can access the Telstra 5G network on a mobile phone is with a Medium, Large, or Extra Large postpaid Telstra plan (unfortunately, Small plans don’t include 5G access). These plans all come with tonnes of data, starting at 80GB for $65 per month on the Medium plan, and going up to 180GB for $115 per month for the Extra Large plan.

Currently, Medium and above customers also get 50% extra Telstra Plus points to spend on Telstra Rewards, and all postpaid plans come on no lock-in contracts. These plans also include unlimited speed-capped data, which means once you surpass your monthly full-speed data allocation, your downloads will be throttled to 1.5Mbps until your bill resets.

Telstra has a deal going right now on the Extra Large plan, which is normally $115. From now until November 16, 2020, you can get 180GB for $65 for your first 12 months – saving you $50 every month, and $600 over the course of a year. Terms apply. See below for plans.

The following table shows selected Telstra postpaid plans on Canstar Blue’s database, listed in order of cost, from the lowest to highest and then by data allowance, largest to smallest. Use our comparison tool to see plans from a range of other providers. This is a selection of products with links to a referral partner.

Should I be thinking about 5G?

5G is still in its infancy in Australia, and Telstra appears to have the most far and wide network. Optus also offers a coverage map which you can find on its website, and Vodafone is still in the early stages of building its network (no map as of writing). Most of the phones people currently use aren’t 5G capable, or if they are, potentially aren’t going through many 5G-covered areas. Newer premium smartphones are starting to offer 5G connectivity, but it’s not very wide spread yet.

That being said, gigabit download speeds are an attractive concept, and are much higher than the 100Mbps speeds 4G can potentially reach. Telstra says its 5G mobile speeds can reach between 50Mbps and 300Mbps, although this would vary from location to location.

Articles on 5G:

• Optus opens 5G network to partners including Moose Mobile and SpinTel
• Apple unveils iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 2 Mini

If you’re not yet in a 5G-ready area, fret not, as there’s not much a 5G network can do that a 4G network can’t, speeds aside. If you’re happy to stick with 4G for the time being, below you will find a selection of plans from providers that might interest you.