Brisbane eSIM
In Brisbane you connect to Telstra or Optus, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 76 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Telstra and Optus
- Typical speed in Australia
- 76 Mbps typical, 20 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Brisbane
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.96 | $8.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.18 | $10.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.59 | $15.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.19 | $23.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $0.94 | $46.89 |
How Australia compares across Oceania
- Regional typical speed
- 30.5 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Telstra, Optus
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next slowest nearby
- New Zealand, 68 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 5: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth
Landing at Brisbane Airport (BNE)
- Airport
- BNE / YBBN
- Distance
- 14 km from the centre of Brisbane
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalFree 'BNE Free Wi-Fi' is available throughout both the International and Domestic terminals; you register your details and accept the terms to connect.
- SIM on arrival
- SIM counters or vending in the terminalAn Optus store in the International Terminal sells traveller SIM cards on the Optus network.
Getting into Brisbane
- Airtrain (BNE), about 20 minutes. Runs through tunnels, where a signal drops
- Taxi from the terminal ranks (BNE), about 20 minutes
- Brisbane City Council route 590 from Skygate (BNE)
Worth knowing about Brisbane
- The Airtrain costs $23.30 one way for an adult while a taxi to the city is quoted at $67-$82, so the train is by far the cheaper airport link despite being expensive for a 20-minute rail trip.
- The airport rail line is privately owned by Airtrain Citylink and is not government-subsidised the way ordinary Translink services are, which is why its fares sit well above normal Brisbane public transport fares.
- The first Airtrain leaves at 5:04am on weekdays and 6:04am at weekends and the last runs at 10:04pm, so passengers on late-evening or overnight arrivals have to take a road transfer instead.
- Airtrain services run into the CBD over the inner-city rail lines, which include the underground platforms at Fortitude Valley.
- Every Translink journey in South East Queensland costs a flat 50 cents, however far you ride and whether you pay by go card, bank card or paper ticket. Normal transfer rules still apply.
- Contactless Visa and Mastercard work on all South East Queensland trains, trams, ferries and buses. Translink treats a phone wallet and the physical card behind it as two separate payment methods, so tap off with whichever one you tapped on with.
- Forgetting to tap off can trigger a default fare. Translink accepts fare adjustment requests through its online Ticketing Assistant or on 13 12 30 for up to 120 days after the charge.
- Brisbane Metro runs two electric routes: M1 from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street and M2 from UQ Lakes to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Services come every 5 minutes on weekdays and run 24 hours at weekends.
- Brisbane City Council says it is working with the state and federal governments to explore extending Brisbane Metro north, east, further south and to the airport.
- Brisbane's river network has 22 ferry terminals, and the all-stops CityCat, route F1, runs daily between UQ St Lucia and Northshore Hamilton. CityCats and ferries are paid services, not free.
- Express CityCats operate only in weekday peaks, on F11 between Apollo Road and Riverside and on F12 between West End and QUT Gardens Point. Bikes, dogs and e-mobility devices travel free on all CityCats and ferries.
- If the airport network seems missing in a lounge, Brisbane Airport explains that lounges often run their own Wi-Fi, separate from the terminal-wide free service.
- Airtrain says most of its trains from the airport carry free Wi-Fi, and both the Domestic and International Airtrain stations have free Wi-Fi too. Trains leave every 15 minutes at peak and every 30 minutes off-peak.
- The airport Airtrain stations have Translink Smart Ticketing gates, so you can tap a bank card, phone or watch. Each traveller needs a separate payment method, and children or concession travellers must use a go card or paper ticket.
- For the Gold Coast, Airtrain connects with the G:link tram at Helensvale on a single ticket, and the tram continues through Southport and Surfers Paradise to Burleigh Heads.