Everything you need to know about the WhistleOut Awards

Anula Wiwatowska - Offsite Editorial Lead

Last updated 23 July 2021

Everything you need to know about the WhistleOut Awards

If you’re on the search for an award that can actually save you money, then the WhistleOut Awards should be on your radar. Focusing on consistency and value for money, these achievements recognise outstanding and dependable telcos offering phone and internet plans.

While there are plenty of awards handed out for supermarket items, cars, and even some others for telcos - these are the only series of awards judged by an organisation that focuses solely on telecommunications.

WhistleOut is the only comparison site in Australia that only compares only phone and internet plans. Nothing else. No side projects. We spend hours upon hours trolling through plans by 29 mobile and 32 internet carriers to identify the very best deals for Australians. We are, undeniably, experts in all things telco - and dedicated to making your telco choices easy.

The easiest way? Look for a WhistleOut Awards badge. Here is everything you need to know about the WhistleOut Awards.

What are the WhistleOut Awards?

The WhistleOut Awards recognise mobile and internet providers that consistently deliver great value to consumers. Awarded by Australia’s only comparison site solely dedicated to mobile and internet plans, a WhistleOut Award is a trustworthy indicator that a telco offers solid value for customers.

How do we pick the winners?

Picking the WhistleOut Award winners is a year-long job. All phone and internet plan categories are judged by awarding 3, 2, or 1 point to the providers with the top three plans each month. At the end of the 12-month period (July - June), these points are tallied and the winners are chosen based on their overall score. Our monthly winners and the methodology behind this are outlined in our Editor’s Pick pages for the corresponding award.

Providers can receive multiple wins month-to-month if the value of multiple plans supersedes those of other providers. This simply solidifies that these providers are offering consistently good value for customers.

The two exceptions to this judging process are the Best Promotion awards for Mobile and Internet. These awards are given to the single best promotion over the 12-month period as judged by WhistleOut’s in-house panel of experts.

The WhistleOut phone awards are judged by our team of editorial experts who have reviewed the majority of new phones brought out over the last 12 months. Key judging considerations include price, performance, battery, screen, camera, design and the overall user experience.

When are the awards presented?

Judging on the awards runs between July of the previous year, and June of the present year - spanning the full financial year. Award winners are then announced in early August.

Award categories

Mobile phone awards
Best Camera Phone	Acknowledges the best in class camera setup on a smartphone.
Best Phone Design	Awarded for a combination of form and function, taking into account interesting breakthroughs in smartphone design.
Best Value Phone	This winner represents the best-valued phone in the market, weighing the quality of the overall product and price.
Best High Performance Phone	The best high performance phone awards the absolute pinnacle of smartphone performance throughout the year. The absolute best of the best in all technical aspects.
Phone Manufacturer of the Year	Winner is chosen based on the manufacturer’s overall portfolio and innovation over the past year.
Phone of the Year	Awarded to the best overall phone released in the previous financial year.
Internet plan awards
Best Unlimited NBN Provider	The fixed-line NBN provider that offered unlimited data that achieved the highest point-score during the judging period for its NBN 50 plans.
Best Premium NBN Provider	The fixed-line NBN provider that achieved the highest point-score during the judging period for its NBN 100 plans.
Best Fixed Wireless NBN Provider	This award goes to the fixed wireless provider that scored the most points during the judging period for its NBN 50 plans.
Best Satellite NBN Provider	The satellite NBN provider that achieved the highest point-score during the judging period for its NBN 25 plans.
Best Mobile Broadband Provider, Everyday Use	Awarded to the mobile broadband provider that consistently offered the best deals on plans with at least 30GB per month.
Best Mobile Broadband Provider, High Use	Awarded to the mobile broadband provider that consistently offered the best deals on plans with at least 75GB per month.
Best Home Wireless Broadband Provider	Awarded to the home wireless broadband provider who achieved the highest points-score during the judging period for plans with minimum 500GB data.
Best Internet Promotion	Awarded to the provider that offered the best value promotion on an internet plan throughout the year.
Internet Provider of the Year	The internet provider that accumulated the most overall points across internet categories during the judging period.
Phone plan awards
Best SIM-Only Provider, Value Plans	The winner is the SIM-only provider that consistently offers the best deals on plans with at least 10GB per month.
Best SIM-Only Provider, Large Plans	The SIM-only provider that consistently offers the best deals on plans with at least 30GB per month.
Best Prepaid Provider, Value Plans	The prepaid SIM provider that has consistently offered the best deals on plans with at least 10GB per month.
Best Prepaid Provider, Large Plans	The prepaid SIM provider that has consistently offered the best deals on plans with at least 30GB per month.
Best Provider, iPhone Plans	This award goes to the mobile provider that consistently offered the best value flagship iPhone plans.
Best Provider, Samsung Plans	This award goes to the mobile provider that consistently offered the best value flagship Samsung plans.
Best Provider, International Calls	Awarded to the mobile provider that accumulated the most points during the judging period for plans with a minimum 10GB data and international call inclusions to a minimum of 10 destinations.
Best Provider, Plans for Kids	The winner is the mobile provider that consistently offered the best deals on prepaid plans with a minimum of 5GB data.
Best Phone Plan Promotion	Awarded to the provider that offered the best value promotion on a phone plan throughout the year.
Mobile Provider of the Year	The mobile provider that accumulated the most overall points across mobile categories during the judging period.

Anula Wiwatowska

Offsite Editorial Lead | Instagram

Anula is the Off-Site Editorial Lead for WhistleOut Australia, and an award winning tech journalist. She has been writing about the Australian telco industry, and consumer technology for over five years, and has been known to tell her Uber driver which phone they should upgrade to next.

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