Telstra's Coverage Map Shrinks by One Million Square Kilometres as Regulator Tightens Measurement Standards

Australia's communications regulator revised how it measures mobile signal coverage, formally reducing Telstra's official footprint by approximately one million square kilometres—larger than New South Wales. The carrier has built premium pricing on reliability claims. That erosion of mapped coverage, combined with a July 2026 nationwide outage and an A$18 million 2025 fine for misleading customers about internet speeds, pressures the reliability argument Telstra uses to justify its $74 monthly plan—$16 higher than competitors.