Telstra has announced a new collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink to bring Satellite-to-Mobile (direct-to-handset) text messaging to customers in Australia. Telstra says the deal will enable them to provide better coverage from coast to coast, especially for those in regional and remote areas.
The collaboration will initially focus on testing and refining a Satellite-to-Mobile text messaging capability for Australian conditions, ahead of a commercial launch.
Telstra’s mobile network already covers 99.7 per cent of the Australian population over an area of 3 million square kilometers. But 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 existing networks.
As satellite technology continues to evolve to support voice, data and IoT, Telstra says it will explore opportunities for the commercial launch of those new services. The partnership is in addition to its current work with SpaceX’s Starlink around Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite home and small business fixed internet products.
“We’re committed to continue enhancing our mobile network to meet the growing demands and increasing data usage of our customers, which includes our continued roll out of 5G to cover 95 per cent of the Australian population by FY25,” said Shailin Sehgal, Group Executive Global Networks and Tech, Global Networks and Technology at Telstra.
“In fact, over the past seven years to the end of FY24 we have invested $11.8 billion into our mobile network across the country. We have a continued focus on network resilience across all our technologies, architecture and network operations to make the network as reliable as possible. This includes making equipment more resilient in disaster-prone areas and increasing redundancy through adding diversified backhaul pathways including using satellite backhaul solutions. We will continue this investment to improve our terrestrial mobile network, while exploring how satellite technology can play a role in remote areas of the country not covered by land-based coverage,” added Sehgal.