Who are TPG Mobile?
TPG Mobile is a subsidiary of TPG Telecom Limited, which was created following the merger between TPG Mobile and Vodafone. Both telcos were allowed to join forces after a federal judge approved their $15bn merger in 2020, despite opposition by the ACCC.
After the merger, TPG Telecom became the second largest telco on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and the third largest telco in Australia behind Telstra and Optus.
Prior to the merger, TPG Mobile was just an MVNO that simply resold the Vodafone network. But after the merge, the newly formed entity took on the TPG Telecom Limited name, and both TPG Mobile and Vodafone became one of the many subsidiaries under that umbrella.
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The TPG journey. src
However, despite the fact that Vodafone is now a subsidiary of TPG Telecom, all mobile subsidiaries under the umbrella resell the Vodafone network, and that includes TPG Mobile. As a result, TPG Mobile still resells the Vodafone mobile digital 3G and 4G networks.
In this post, we’ll tell you all about Vodafone’s network coverage so you can decide whether TPG Mobile SIM plans are right for you. Read on to find out.
Vodafone network coverage in Australia
Vodafone had been the third largest telco in Australia even before their merger with TPG Mobile. And after the merger, the telco has the third largest mobile network in the country, but that might change for the better by the end of this year,
We recently reported that TPG Telecom (Vodafone) and Telstra had reached an agreement to share their mobile networks. The agreement, if approved by the ACCC, would give Vodafone access to 3,700 Telstra mobile 4G and 5G networks in some regional and urban fringe areas of Australia for 10 years. In return, Telstra expects around AU$1.6bn to AU$1.8bn in revenue, along with some access to Vodafone 4G and 5g networks in some areas.
Currently, the Vodafone mobile network comes in third covering 96 percent of the Australian population. However, if their network sharing agreement with Telstra is approved, then Vodafone’s could have the second best mobile network coverage in Australia, covering at 98.8 percent of the population. Such a coverage boost would surpass Optus’ mobile coverage which currently stands at 98.5 percent.
What are TPG products/plans
TPG Mobile offers a range of services to both private and business customers, including “NBN, ADSL2+, Fibre Optic and Ethernet broadband access, telephony services, SIM Only Mobile plans and various business networking solutions.” While their offers are quite broad, we’ll focus on their mobile SIM plans to give you an idea of what to expect.
TPG Mobile offers prepaid SIM only plans, which means they offer plans with no lock-in contracts and allow you to bring your own phone. They also offer customers a free SIM card and delivery once the first month is paid, and you can port your current phone number over to your new TPG Mobile SIM.
Here’s a quick look at TPG Mobile’s prepaid SIM only plans:
- Four plans ranging from $20 to $40 per month
- Unlimited talk and text to standard national numbers
- 12GB to 50GB of data
- $10 excess data add-on for 2GB
- Optional $5 per month International add-on for unlimited International calls to 37 select countries
- Discounts on some plans if you’re also an existing TPG broadband customer
And if TPG Mobile plans don’t seem like the right fit, we’ve put together some of the best mobile SIM plans in Australia, so be sure to check them out.
Bottom Line
TPG are an MVNO which currently use the Vodafone mobile network. Following their messy merger with Vodafone, TPG is just one of several brands which are managed, in parallel to each other, under the parent TPG Telecom Limited. Others include Lebara and iiNet.
On top of those – as if they weren’t enough, Vodafone also stepped into the arena with its rivals and launched it’s own fully owned sub-brand – Felix Mobile.
As someone who has worked for Vodafone in two countries, I suspect that this list of brands is about to be ‘rationalised’. That simply must be the case, because as presently structured, the vast array of sub brands under the TPG Telecom and Vodafone umbrella are competing with each other and confusing the market.
I suspect iiNet and TPG Mobile are the brands that will be let go, but that’s mere speculation based on the fact that their other sub brands have very clear areas of the market. Felix has an unlimited data proposition, Vodafone is the main brand, and Lebara are targeted deliberately at the international market. TPG and iiNet, while recognisable brands in their own right, stand for ‘value’ – a segment that most telcos are keen to move away from.