All you need is a direct line of sight to the sky and you’ll soon be able to text from pretty much anywhere in Australia on the Telstra network.
Today, Telstra announced it’s teaming up with Starlink to offer Satellite-to-Mobile technology to its customers. No date has been set for availability but it appears iPhone users ( 14 and up) will be in the best position to take advantage of the technology when it does go live.
“Telstra already has the largest and most reliable mobile network in Australia covering 99.7% of the Australian population over an area of 3 million square kilometres, which is more than 1 million square kilometres greater than our nearest competitor,” said Shailin Sehgal, Telstra Group Executive of Global Network and Technology.
KEY POINTS:
- The collaboration will enable Telstra customers to send and receive SMS’s on a compatible mobile phone in most parts of Australia where there is a direct line of sight to the sky.
- This new technology is particularly relevant for Telstra customers that live or travel outside our leading mobile network in regional and remote parts of the country.
- Australia’s landmass is vast and there will always be large areas where mobile and fixed networks do not reach, and this is where satellite technology will play a complementary role to our existing networks.
- Satellite-to-Mobile creates a future where outdoor connectivity for basic services will be possible from some of Australia’s most remote locations, including in some parts of the ocean where mobile coverage isn’t available.
- As satellite technology continues to evolve to support voice, data and IoT we will explore opportunities for the commercial launch of those new services.
In 2023 Telstra became the first provider in the world to offer consumer grade voice-only and voice plus broadband powered by Starlink fixed satellite services to rural and remote Telstra customers.
The service is now available to consumers and small businesses with up to five employees, with a data-only available for enterprise customers.
