Is there any way to know which provider will have the best/ most consistent data without actually buying them all? Some I have found to be quite patchy, pages timing out, lowest quality streaming etc.
Best/Most Consistent Options for Mobile broadband/4G as Home Internet?
alex123711 on 20/06/2022 - 12:42
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Add an Android app called "Aus Phone Towers" shows you were the carrier towers are in your area, shows lots of info with each tower like distance, bandwidth capacity, if they have 3g, 4g and 5g capabilities
But usually actually trying each providers data sim plan is the best way to test, as it usually depends on your home location from each particular tower and depending( if your using Telstra, Optos or Vodafone provider, there is only 3x to try as NVMO's will use 1x of the 3x main carriers mentionedabove), don't forget you can use a calls/data sim plans as a only for data use well especially if it's better priced then a stand alone data plan
I actually use the Optus $15 (discounted to $7.50 special for 12 months) 5gb monthly data plan speed capped at 1.5Mbps after allocated 5gb data is exhausted and its my main home internet too keep my Fecth box alive, though I do use it for streaming Video services/YouTube, web browsing etc on my Fetch TV Boxes, Computet, laptop and mobile, usually it's at 1.5 Mbps speed, as 5gb data doesn't last long and overall at that speed its not too bad, main reason I use it for my mobile so I don't use up my phones main calls data plan of 5G 100gb quicker, I actually went through over 3gb on this Optus data plan this month, if ever it gets slow and/or sluggish I just jump onto my main phones full 5G speed of 100gb of data,
My 2 cents 👍😁
i've got a boost and aldi sim (both current) and i switched over to the boost as the aldi one was lagging, slow to load pages, i instantly noticed how much better the boost sim was, faster, no lag.
Is there any way to know which provider will have the best/ most consistent data without actually buying them all?
No, buying and testing is the best option. Optus and Telstra should be faster where I live but in reality VF is the fastest, go figure! Since your service is staying in a fixed place you don't have to worry about coverage when on the move as much, too. Also helps you test the throughput for your particular device…
It's not too expensive to test:
VF $2.90 https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-mobile-sim-prepaid-starte…
Optus $1-$2 flex 5G or 4G https://www.optus.com.au/prepaid/plans/flex
Boost/Telstra when Boost has a promo or sim deal is on ozbargain :) https://boost.com.au/
Aldimobile $5 for Telstra wholesale https://www.aldimobile.com.au/products/paygIt addition to the posts above read the plan conditions you think you are going to get BEFORE you buy a modem as some plans need a specific modem or a branded modem.
Also be aware that using a data SIM in a phone will give different results to the modem and the modem may be slower or faster than the phone, but if the phone speed sucks then IMHO the modem speed will also suck. On the flip side if the phone speed is ultra fast then the modem speed will probably be slower. The speed on a 4G modem is also proportional to the size of the modem, for example a USB stick is slow, a modem the size of a phone is faster and the modem the size of a 1L milk container is faster for the one mobile network in the same spot.
Also some plans do NOT allow you to move the modem/SIM around (aka go to different suburbs or towns) and some do. In most cases the networks do not enforce this, but they can.
Where I am Telstra 4G is the fastest followed by Optus and then Vodafone. They all suck when the mobile towers are being worked on and the support they give you suck. In other places I have been on holidays at Optus is faster then Vodafone and then Telstra. So it varies depending on where the towers are.
It all depends on coverage over your address. The best provider for another location isn’t necessarily the best for yours.