Telstra, Australia’s telecommunication company, announced that it is partnering with Starlink to deliver Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity to provide voice and fixed broadband services in remote and rural locations.
Telstra will be able to provide home phone service and Starlink broadband services to Aussies as a bundle offer, as well as local tech support and the option of professional installation.
This agreement also provides connectivity options for business customers, with a higher bandwidth business option available in areas without fixed and mobile connectivity. The business offer will be available to purchase from Telstra both locally and in select countries overseas.
“It will be available for customers and businesses towards the end of 2023, when the company will also be able to share unique pricing and plan details as well as how basic voice calls will work with a modem which will be offered with the service,” company said in a blog post.
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.
One of the benefits of LEO satellites is that they are much closer than geostationary satellites to Earth with multiple satellites that are part of a “constellation”, allowing them to send and receive signals much faster. As well as offering great data throughput, the proximity of these satellites reduces latency making them a great and more consistent option for services that need low latency, like voice and video calls.
The latency, download speeds and general experience in most circumstances will be far superior to copper-based ADSL and be better suited for most modern connectivity needs.
