Optus switches on 1,000th upgraded regional 5G site, targets 1,500 by end of 2028

Optus has switched on its 1,000th upgraded regional 5G site, according to a report published by EFTM on Tuesday 20 October 2026. The carrier says it has doubled its upgraded regional 5G sites over the past 18 months. It plans to upgrade more than 1,500 regional sites before the end of 2028 and almost 2,500 by 2030.

Optus says upgraded sites can deliver download speeds 15 times faster than the 4G tower they replace. The company points to improved streaming, more stable video calls and more reliable card payments for regional customers, businesses and visitors.

Anthony Shiner, Chief Customer Officer at Optus, linked the program to demand as more people choose regional lifestyles. Shiner said Optus had "accelerated the pace of our regional upgrades to keep up with that demand, nearly doubling the number of upgraded regional 5G sites in the past 18 months". He said the carrier was "planning to deliver 1,500 upgraded regional 5G sites by the end of 2028".

The report cites the latest Regional Movers Index, which it says shows movement from cities to regional Australia outstripping the reverse by 30 per cent. EFTM also noted the milestone follows a difficult period for Optus after its major outage at the end of last year, and that Opensignal named Optus the fastest 5G network for mobile downloads nationally. The report adds that the government's Mobile Blackspot program encourages telcos to upgrade their infrastructure.