Telstra and Starlink team up to bring satellite text messaging to Aussies
Telstra has begun testing and refining satellite text messaging capabilities via SpaceX's Starlink so Aussies in remote areas can stay connected.
If successful, Telstra's partnership with Starlink will help Aussies send and receive text messages even when outside of Telstra's coverage zones.
That is as long as there's a direct line of sight to the sky.
Telstra's existing network covers 99.7% of the Australian population over an area of 3 million square kilometres, which it says "is more than 1 million square kilometres greater than our nearest competitor."
"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," Telstra group executive of global network and technology, Shailin Sehgal, said in a media release.
Will all smartphones benefit from Telstra and Starlink's partnership?
Details are still a little unclear, but Telstra says the technology should work with most modern smartphones.
It's not the same as what you might've seen on newer iPhones, where you can send emergency texts via satellite.
Instead, the Telstra-Starlink partnership will let Aussies send and receive regular text messages - even when it's not an emergency.
But keep in mind, some areas will be excluded such as the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia and remote offshore territories and islands.
When will the service officially launch and will it make Telstra's mobile plans worth it?
There's no official launch date yet, but we'll update you when more details emerge.
Whether this feature makes Telstra's plans worth it depends on your location and how often you travel to remote areas.
With testing still underway, it's too early to gauge how effective the service will be.
All of this sounds quite familiar...
The news follows Optus's announcement in 2023 that it would be partnering with Starlink to roll out satellite text messaging services in late 2024.
However, it failed to meet the deadline.
And last year, Telstra's own journey with SpaceX officially kicked off when it began selling Starlink internet plans with a voice service to essentially give people access to an old-fashioned landline, a point of appeal for people in remote areas with limited mobile coverage.
Satellite connectivity to dominate 2025 headlines?
Interestingly, HMD, the company behind Nokia-branded phones, recently revealed plans to launch a satellite dongle in February 2025.
It will enable Aussies to go off-grid with satellite technology and send texts even without mobile reception.
The dongle will cost $329 and then on top of it you'd need to pay for a subscription in one of two ways:
- $24.99 per month plan with unlimited messaging or $239.99 a year, and a one-off $13.99
- $112.99 a year plan for $350 messages and a one-off $27.99 activation fee
We're also expecting trials to begin for TPG/Vodafone's partnership with US satellite company Lynk Global, aiming for near-100% coverage to eliminate mobile dead zones across Australia.
It'll help service basic voice, text and data services to coverage gaps in very remote locations.
With all this in mind, it looks like the satellite connectivity space is gearing up for another fiercely competitive year.