WhistleOut Awards
Welcome to the 2026 WhistleOut Awards, where we recognise the service providers and phone companies that presented the best telco plans, products & customer satisfaction to Australians over the last year.
Best Mobile Providers
Best Phone Manufacturers
Best Internet Providers
WhistleOut Customer Satisfaction Awards
We've asked the public for their views on their mobile and internet providers, revealing the top providers for categories from customer service to network coverage.
2026 Best Mobile Providers
Mobile Provider Of The Year
TPG is WhistleOut's Mobile Provider of the Year for the fourth year running, which is a very impressive achievement. TPG has consistently offered great value to customers, particularly in the prepaid space. If you're looking for an affordable mobile plan TPG is a great place to start.
Best SIM-Only Provider, Value Plans
Spintel has gone back-to-back winning the Best SIM Only Provider, Value Plans award. The budget MVNO runs on the Optus network and prides itself on low costs.
Runner Up:Dodo
Best SIM-Only Provider, Large Plans
SIM Only plans is a very competitive space, with lots of providers offering great value. This year its Dodo that takes out the Best SIM Only Provider award for Large Plans, pipping last year's winner Spintel.
Runner Up:SpinTel
Best Prepaid Provider, Value Plans
TPG has made it three-in-a-row winning the Best Prepaid Provider for Value Plans category once again. Offering plans with plenty of bang for your buck, TPG is an attractive choice for prepaid plans.
Runner Up:felix mobile
Best Prepaid Provider, Large Plans
felix mobile is probably best known for its green credentials, but you also get excellent value to boot when you shop with them. felix mobile offers amongst the best data-per-dollar plans on the market, which why the Best Prepaid Provider of Large Plans award has gone felix's way for the second year running.
Runner Up:TPG
Best Provider, iPhone Plans
Offering robust and competitive options for people looking to buy an iPhone on a plan, Vodafone has now taken home WhistleOut's Best Provider, iPhone Plans award for an incredible six years in-a-row.
Runner Up:Optus
Best Provider, Samsung Plans
Just as it has done with the iPhone category, Vodafone has now won WhistleOut's Best Provider, Samsung Plans for an amazing six years in-a-row.
Runner Up:Optus
Best Provider, International Calls
International calls is a very competitive area, and one where providers can differentiate themselves. This year it's TPG that takes home the award, beating Lycamobile to the top spot.
Runner Up:Lyca Mobile
Best Provider, Plans for Kids
Yomojo has scored its first WhistleOut award win taking home the gong for Best Provider, Plans for Kids.
Runner Up:Kogan Mobile
2026 Best Mobile Manufacturers
Phone Of The Year
The last 12 months, especially the last six, have been a turbulent time for the phone market. Phones are either getting more expensive or year-on-year updates have become so gradual you may as well buy the previous device.
The iPhone 17e bucked that trend, launching at the same price as its predecessor with several meaningful updates and more storage. While more expensive (and as such, flashier) iPhones will no doubt be more appealing to the tech-minded among us, the iPhone 17e represents a fantastic baseline device for anyone who’s taken a few years off in between upgrades.
It’s for these reasons, and more, that the iPhone 17e is our phone of the year.
Read the review
Best Camera Phone
While there's no shortage of good and even great camera phones, the iPhone 17 Pro stands out thanks to its consistency and reliability.
Apple continues to excel at making mobile cameras that shoot quickly, making them less likely to miss a moment.
The iPhone 17 Pro also benefits from a new zoom lens that allows for high-quality photos at up to 8x, opening even more potential for interesting shots. With its cameras combined, the iPhone 17 Pro is the phone to beat for photographic prowess.
(Note that the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the same cameras as the iPhone 17 Pro if you want the bigger device.)
Highly Commended:Xiaomi 17 Ultra
Best Phone Design
OPPO set a new benchmark for folding phones with the Find N6. Not only is the Find N6 a trailblazer in its achievement of a creaseless display, it significantly narrowed the gap between foldables and non-foldables in core areas like battery life and camera performance.
The Find N6 is the first foldable where the end product truly lives up to the category’s ambitions.
Highly Commended:Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Best Value Phone
The Nothing Phone 4a is a phone that exudes bang-for-buck. While it’s easy to like its unique design, the real proposition is the fact Phone 4a over-indexes on features you’ll actually care about. It’s super snappy, has a reliable battery, and is the only phone in its price bracket to have a properly good telephoto lens.
Highly Commended:Samsung Galaxy A57
Best High Performance Phone
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra pairs the usual high-end specifications with an incredible camera and aggressive pricing.
At a time where every flagship device keeps getting more expensive, a rival that goes toe-to-toe with the best and is also good value clearly stands out.
Highly Commended:OPPO Find X9 Pro
Phone Manufacturer of the Year
Nothing didn’t release as many phones as rivals in the last 12 months, but its devices all ranged from great to excellent.
Nothing has cemented itself as a challenger brand to care about, and an easy go-to for a phone that not only punches above its asking price, but one that stands out aesthetically.
Highly Commended:OPPO
2026 Best Internet Providers
Internet Provider Of The Year
Dodo has won WhistleOut's top internet gong for the second year running. Dodo came top of our lists for almost every NBN category, offering consistently great customers value across its NBN services.
Best Everyday NBN Provider
Dodo has now taken out the Best Everyday NBN Provider award in back-to-back years for its simple and affordable plans.
Runner Up:Tangerine Telecom
Best Fast NBN Provider
Dodo takes the top spot for Fast NBN Provider by offering NBN100 plans with reliable evening speeds at competitive prices.
Runner Up:Kogan Internet
Best Superfast NBN Provider
This is the second year the Superfast NBN Provider category has been available and Dodo has won it for the second time. 250Mbps plans are now widely available, offering consumers even more choice to find a speed right for them. Dodo has consistently brought the best value Superfast NBN package to the table over the last 24 months, securing it the win once again.
Runner Up:Kogan Internet
Best Fixed Wireless NBN Provider
Last year was the first time Dodo had won the Best Fixed Wireless NBN award, but has now gone back-to-back with consecutive wins in this category.
Runner Up:Tangerine
Best Satellite NBN Provider
Having broken the stranglehold Skymesh had on this category last year, Activ8me now has gone back-to-back winning the Best Satellite NBN Provider award for the second time. Activ8me is focused on connecting the more hard-to-reach areas of Australia with reliable internet services that don't cost the earth.
Runner Up:Skymesh
Best Mobile Broadband Provider, High Use
It's three-in-a-row for Tangerine Telecom as it takes the crown of Best Mobile Broadband Provider, High Use for another year.
Runner Up:Belong
Best Mobile Broadband Provider, Everyday Use
Vodafone makes it a hat-trick of wins in the Best Mobile Broadband Provider, Everyday Use category. Vodafone has consistently offered compelling mobile broadband plans for all data appetites and is a great choice for people needing to get online while on the go.
Runner Up:Lebara Mobile
Best 4G Home Internet Provider
TPG has retained its crown for the 4G Home internet category. With consistently strong speeds at competitive prices, TPG is a great option for people looking for an this NBN alternative.
Runner Up:iiNet
Best Capped 5G Home Internet Provider
5G Home Internet is now a strong and widely available competitor to NBN services. The Capped 5G Home Internet category provides a mobile network equivalent to the Fast NBN (100 Mbps) category. Offering strong speeds at competitive prices throughout the 12 months, TPG has won this category for the second year running.
Runner Up:Vodafone
Best Uncapped 5G Home Internet Provider
Uncapped plans unlock the true speed benefits of 5G home internet. This is the second year the Uncapped 5G Home Wireless Broadband category has been available and Optus has won the award both times.
Runner Up:Telstra
2026 Customer Satisfaction for Mobile
Most Satisfied Customers - Mobile
amaysim is the winner of this year's top customer satisfaction award: Most Satisfied Customers - Mobile. There were strong scores across the board for all the mobile providers surveyed, which should be reassuring to anyone considering switching providers, but amaysim performed well in every category, showing well rounded customer satisfaction with its service.
Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Network Coverage
Once again this was a very closely contested category, but Telstra edged out the competition and took home the Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Network Coverage award.
Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Customer Service
ALDI mobile makes it two-in-a-row, winning the Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Customer Service award with a score of 4.14 out of 5.
Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Price
amaysim's score for this category was the highest recorded for any mobile provider category. With a winning score of 4.56 out of 5, amaysim takes out the Mobile Customer Satisfaction - Price award.
2026 Customer Satisfaction for Internet
Most Satisfied Customers - Internet
Vodafone wins the internet top gong for Most Satisfied Customers. There were three particularly strong contenders for the top honour, with each scoring well across all categories. In the end Vodafone took the prize, with the best overall customer satisfaction rating.
Internet Customer Satisfaction - Internet Speed
Superloop's reputation for providing fast NBN has been verified once more, winning the Customer Satisfaction - Internet Speed award for the second year running. With a winning score of 4.32 out of 5, Superloop has slightly improved its customer satisfaction levels for speed of service.
Internet Customer Satisfaction - Reliability
Aussie Broadband recorded the highest customer satisfaction score for any of this year's category, winning the Internet Customer Satisfaction - Reliability award with a score of 4.48 out of 5.
Internet Customer Satisfaction - Customer Service
Aussie Broadband wins the Internet Customer Satisfaction - Customer Service award for the second year running. Aussie Broadband has a strong reputation for customer service, which has been reinforced with this repeat win, scoring an improved 4.19 out of 5 - up from 4.1 out of 5 last year.
Internet Customer Satisfaction - Price
Vodafone wins the Internet Customer Satisfaction - Price award with a score of 4.1 out of 5. While this was the lowest scoring category of all, it's perhaps not surprising given our research shows the vast majority of people consider changing plans due to their cost, and kudos to Vodafone for a pricing structure that the majority of its customers are satisfied with.
About the Awards
The WhistleOut Awards recognise the telco businesses that have consistently provided Australians with the best plans over the last year.
The awards also highlight the best phone products released during that period and our range of Customer Satisfaction awards shine a light on how satisfied people are with their telco service provider.
WhistleOut is dedicated to making the comparison experience easy, for everyone. We know it can be a complicated and confusing industry - there are so many different providers, plans, products, and changing technologies to choose from that it's easy to get lost and difficult to know who to trust.
That's where the WhistleOut Awards come in. They aim to cover the different types of phone and internet use cases that apply to most Australians, and show which providers have most consistently offered the best plans over 12 months (July-June) and have delivered their customers the highest levels of satisfaction. The awards also acknowledge the best phones that have been brought onto the market over the year, and provide a great starting point for anyone looking to make a smart telco change.
Judging Criteria
The WhistleOut Awards are aimed at finding the best providers for different phone and internet needs on a national level.
We have reviewed the biggest cross-section of providers possible, including the top 10 service providers in each category, many smaller providers, and the full range of phone manufacturers available in Australia. The top ten service providers typically cover 80% or more of Australia's phone and internet plans.
The WhistleOut Award categories for phone and internet plans are judged by awarding 3, 2 and 1 points to the providers of the three best plans in each category on a monthly basis, (July 2025 - June 2026). The award winners are the providers with the highest number of points at the end of the 12-month period. In case of a tie, winners are chosen based on the number of 1st positions, then 2nd positions, then 3rd positions they achieved in that category over the course of the year. A provider can receive points for multiple plans in a category if their plans best match the award criteria.
The Customer Satisfaction awards are judged based on consumer surveys that asked over a thousand Australians about their telco experiences. As with the telco plan categories, we have surveyed the biggest cross-section of providers possible, including the largest service providers in each category. For a provider to be considered for a Customer Satisfaction award, 50 survey responses were needed from respondents who had been customers for at least three months.
The mobile categories included Network Coverage, Customer Service, and Price. The internet categories included Internet Speed, Reliability, Customer Service, and Price. Respondents rated their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was extremely dissatisfied and 5 was extremely satisfied. The overall most satisfied awards were measured by averaging each provider's category scores within mobile and internet, with each category given equal weighting, and the award going to the provider with the highest overall rating.
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.
