Australia: When it comes to roaming they say mvNO!

Just like the airline industry, the advent of low cost Global roaming providers has really shaken up competition for the incumbent mobile telco's. 

Over 10% of Australians have made the switch from the traditional network operators: Telstra, Optus & Vodafone to the new kids on the block: the Mobile Virtual Network Operator or MVNO.

You probably know them better as Amaysim, Aldi Mobile, Boost Mobile, Kogan Mobile & Belong just to name a few.

These MVNO's typically sell SIM only plans to customers who have an unlocked phone. They typically offer mobile services contract free and provide great value.

They do this by piggybacking off the owners of the network infrastructure. They resell access to their network (or parts of it) and can provide low cost services by running lean operations. They keep costs down by doing away with physical stores and enable customers to self serve usually via website, chat or via an App. MVNO services are also predominantly prepaid which means less hassle and cost associated with chasing unpaid bills.

MVNO's typically offer great value, with unlimited calls & texts, generous data allowances & sometimes even an inclusion of international calls.

However, as you can see from the table below, when it comes time for that overseas trip, it seems that very few of them can provide cost effective International Roaming.