Telstra announces agreement with Starlink

Telstra today announced it had signed an agreement to become the first provider in the world to offer voice-only and voice plus broadband powered by Starlink to rural and remote Telstra customers in Australia.

Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said the Starlink agreement was part of Telstra’s T25 strategy commitment to launch a satellite product with the voice and broadband options being available to consumer and business customers.

“Telstra is always looking to invest in new and better connectivity options for our customers. We know that collaborating with the right partners is one of the best ways to help unlock a digital future, in this case for people in rural and remote Australia looking for an improved voice or broadband service,” Ms Brady said.

“Our teams have been out across the country testing and trialling Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology to ensure we understand where it’s the best solution for our consumer and business customers.

“What will set our offer apart is the addition of Telstra voice service, a professional install option and the ability to get local help with your set up if needed.

In addition, this agreement will also provide connectivity options for our business customers in Australia and overseas, as a higher bandwidth business grade option in areas without fixed and mobile connectivity.

Telstra will announce pricing and device details closer to launch, which it expects to be in late 2023.

Telstra currently uses a mix of technologies to provide voice and broadband services in rural and remote Australia, including nbn Fixed Wireless, Telstra’s own world-leading mobile network and older copper and radio networks.

Starlink will provide an additional connectivity option for people and businesses in rural and remote locations where distance and terrain make it difficult to reach with existing networks.

One of the benefits of LEO satellites are that they are much closer to Earth, allowing them to send and receive signals much faster. This makes them a great option for services that need low-latency, like voice and video calls or providing backhaul to mobile networks.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation designed, owned and operated by SpaceX, the American aerospace company.