Tech X Telco

Australia’s mobile networks added more sites. What changed outside the cities?

The ACCC’s 2026 infrastructure report shows where Telstra, Optus and TPG added sites—and why the figures cannot tell you whether a phone will work at your address.

Michel Elijah ·

Editorial illustration of mobile signal equipment against a regional Australian landscape, representing the ACCC network report rather than a particular site.

A new mobile site can help a town with patchy reception. It can also add capacity to an area that already has a signal. That distinction matters when reading the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s report released on 22 September: more sites are useful evidence of network activity, but they are not a promise about the bars on your phone.

What you need to know

As at 31 January 2026, Telstra operated 12,175 mobile sites, Optus 9,499 and TPG 5,262, according to the ACCC. Telstra added the most sites since the previous reporting year. TPG also had access to 2,549 sites through its sharing arrangement with Optus, taking its own sites plus shared access to 7,811. The report analyses sites—not comparable coverage quality at your address.

What changed in the latest count?

Compared with the ACCC’s 2025 snapshot, Telstra had 408 more sites, Optus 108 more and TPG 55 more on their own networks. The ACCC counts a mobile site as a place where an operator has radio equipment. It might be on a tower, a rooftop, a light pole or inside a building. Two operators can also use the same structure, so adding their site totals does not give the number of physical towers in Australia.

Three figures that need different labels

The ACCC’s snapshot is dated 31 January 2026.

  • 12,175 Telstra sites

    Telstra’s own reported mobile sites, the highest of the three operators.

  • 9,499 Optus sites

    Optus’s own reported mobile sites.

  • 5,262 TPG sites; 7,811 accessible

    TPG’s own sites, then its own sites plus 2,549 Optus–TPG shared sites. The second figure is access, not another set of TPG-built towers.

A site count can move for reasons besides a newly served community. An operator can add its radios to a structure another operator already uses, or replace a nearby site. A sharing arrangement can also change the footprint customers can access without adding to the operator’s own-site count. The ACCC explicitly warns that a change in site numbers is not necessarily a measure of investment or a change in the coverage offered to customers.

Where did the 5G additions go?

The city–region split is the sharpest finding. Of 5G-capable sites each operator added since 2025, 56% of Optus’s and 84% of TPG’s were in Major Cities. For Telstra, 36% were in Major Cities. These are shares of added 5G sites, not the share of Australians with 5G, or a measurement of 5G speed.

The ACCC also reports that 85.7% of TPG’s own mobile sites were in Major Cities. Include the sites it can access through the Optus–TPG sharing deal and that proportion falls to 57.8%. If you live or travel outside a capital, that shared access is more relevant than looking only at TPG’s own-site figure. It still does not tell you which street, building or handset will connect.

The Optus–TPG sharing deal changes the reading

The ACCC lists 2,549 sites under the Optus–TPG Multi-Operator Core Network arrangement for TPG’s use. Of these, 2,206 were in regional areas and 340 in remote areas. TPG no longer reports its own sites in Very Remote Australia and relies on shared sites there. A falling count of its own sites therefore should not be read automatically as a shrinking customer footprint.

This is also a reason to check the map for the exact provider and plan you are considering, especially with a smaller mobile brand. The ACCC says operators provide different wholesale access arrangements, and Telstra offers some mobile virtual network operators a smaller coverage footprint than its own retail customers. “Uses the Telstra network” is not enough information on its own.

Related: which mobile providers use the Telstra network?

Why does the report not rank coverage?

The ACCC stopped analysing coverage in this report series because operators’ historical map models were not transparent or comparable enough for that exercise. Its 2026 historical maps reflect the 31 January snapshot, before the ACMA’s standardised coverage-map rules took effect in June. The report says to treat those older maps with additional caution.

For a decision today, start with the provider’s current public 4G and 5G map. Under the ACMA rules, it uses the categories good, moderate, basic and no coverage, based on predictive modelling and updated at least every three months. Compare the places you actually use your phone: home, work and the road between them. A predicted outdoor result still cannot guarantee reception inside a particular room or throughout a journey.

How to read the new mobile coverage maps and outage registers

What should you do before switching?

  • Check the current map for the specific provider and plan, not just the name of the underlying network.

  • Look up the addresses and routes that matter to you; do not rely on a national site-count headline.

  • Ask people using that provider nearby about calls and data indoors, while remembering that devices and buildings differ.

  • If coverage is critical for work or safety, keep an alternative way to communicate and ask the provider how to test the service before committing for a long period.

The ACCC report is valuable because it makes network deployment easier to scrutinise and shows where sharing changes the picture. Its honest limit is equally useful: the network with the biggest site total is not automatically the best choice for your kitchen, farm gate or commute.

Sources and further reading