News

Telstra pitches to regions with Starlink deal

Beef Central 04/07/2023

Launching of Starlink satellites into orbit. Photo: Starlink/SpaceX

TELSTRA has today announced it is working with Elon Musk’s company Starlink to deliver Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity to provide voice and fixed broadband services in remote and hard-to-reach places.

In what it has described as a world-first offering, Telstra will be able to provide home phone service and Starlink broadband services to Australian customers as a bundle offer.

This agreement also provides connectivity options for Telstra business customers, with a higher bandwidth business option available in areas without fixed and mobile connectivity.

Telstra expects to be offering its new product to the market towards the end of 2023, along with pricing and plan details as well as to how basic voice calls will work.

“Our network currently uses a mix of technologies to provide voice and broadband services in rural and remote Australia, including nbn fixed broadband, our mobile network and older copper and radio networks,” Telstra said in a statement.

“The addition of Starlink will provide an additional connectivity option for people and businesses in rural and remote locations where distance and terrain make it difficult to provide quality connectivity with existing terrestrial networks.”

LEO satellites are much closer than geostationary satellites to Earth, and Telstra said multiple satellites allow them to send and receive signals much faster.

Telstra said the latency, download speeds and general experience in most circumstances will be “far superior” to copper-based ADSL, and better suited for most modern connectivity needs.

NSW Farmers Western Division Council chair Gerard Glover has welcomed the announcement, which he said augurs well for connectivity “in paddocks and along roads” .

“This is yet another way we’re seeing innovative technologies used to solve everyday problems in the bush,” Mr Glover said.

“While we will continue to work and advocate for improved mobile phone coverage and service, this will virtually unlock a lot of places that have never had service before.

“We would hope that as we see more of these technologies come online, we’ll see more and more people in rural and remote be able to connect with the world.”

The new offering incorporating LEO satellite connectivity is expected to sit alongside other voice and broadband technologies such as NBN fixed Wireless, Telstra’s own mobile network and older copper and radio networks.

SpaceX’s first Starlink satellite was launched in 2019, and the Starlink network hit 1.5 million subscribers in May.

It is already used by cropping, pastoral and service operations in regional and remote parts of Australia, and around the globe.

 

Source: Telstra, NSW Farmers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your comment will not appear until it has been moderated.
Contributions that contravene our Comments Policy will not be published.

Comments

  1. Ross Ainsworth, 05/07/2023

    Humanity is so lucky to be the beneficiary of the efforts of a genius like Elon Musk. His unique combination of extraordinary intellect, an incredible drive to solve some of the worlds most pressing problems and unmatched entrepreneurial skills has allowed him to deliver efficient and sustainable solutions where governments and large corporations consistently fail. Starlink is a perfect example. Bravo.

  2. MR MICHAEL TEELOW, 05/07/2023

    Starlink has been available for some time
    My Son and I used the Telstra satellite phone in the Kimberlys and Northern Territory for years with add hock results My son has starlink and can now ring me from anywhere on his mobile phone with better connectivity than most rural mobile phone coverage
    Is Telstra playing catchup and will they want to slug us with a price that resembles there satellite phone service.

Get Beef Central's news headlines emailed to you -
FREE!