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In a move that will greatly improve telecommunications across Australia, Telstra, the nation’s leading network provider, has partnered with SpaceX’s Starlink to bring satellite-to-mobile text messaging services to Australia. The company shared this news on the 3rd of June 2025, following the successful launch of the network.
This new development falls perfectly in line with Telstra’s mission to provide sustainable connectivity for casual and emergency messaging to customers outside their mobile network range.
How to Use Satellite Messaging Services
Eager for the release of this technology, Telstra launched satellite massaging just weeks after trials were completed. The new invention is the solution to the lack of network coverage experienced by many consumers residing in the most remote and underserved regional areas of Australia.
According to the Starlink page, satellites that are being used for direct-to-mobile connection are equipped with eNodeB, a modem that allows the satellite to act as a cellphone tower. With this, people would be able to easily connect to the satellite and receive similar services to those offered by normal roaming networks.
Telstra’s impressive milestone is achieved through leveraging its partnership with SpaceX to access Starlink’s direct-to-cell service. The satellite provides Telstra’s customers with quality satellite massaging services.
To access and use the network, Tom Beach, Consumer Executive at Telstra, suggests customers and small businesses check these boxes:
Be on Telstra’s month-to-month mobile plan.
Use a supported cellphone device from the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.
Have up-to-date software installed.
If customers already have these, they don’t need to activate any feature or change their mobile settings to start using the satellite-to-mobile service. When outside Telstra’s network range, the device will automatically seek the satellite signal, connect to the Starlink direct-to-cell network, and display “Telstra SpaceX” on the network icon.
To make the process easier, individuals can go outdoors and stand with no obstructions overhead. Once connected, customers must stay outside to freely send and receive messages. Moving around might disrupt the connection or slow down the speed at which the messages are sent through the network.
This technology enables customers to send and receive text messages directly to their family and friends using the Starlink satellites. As simple as this technology sounds, the ability to seamlessly communicate anywhere outside major cities, such as Sydney, is a luxury some Australians have previously not experienced.
The Capabilities of the Satellite Service
As the technology is still in its developmental phase, the network only allows for low-bandwidth usage, with SMS capabilities as one of the first features to be made available to clients, but this is not the extent of the technology’s reach.As satellite-to-mobile is still an intermittent service, it does not support internet messaging apps but allows for sending GPS coordinates and emojis. Smooth communication is based on the customer’s location and the availability of satellites overhead; however, messages might still not appear immediately after they are sent.
While the initial focus of the technology is on text messaging, both Telstra and Starlink have ambitious plans for their satellite-to-mobile services. They plan to expand the offerings to support more advanced features, such as voice, video, data, and IoT, which all require a higher bandwidth to be operational.
The Reason Behind Pursuing Satellite-Based Network
Telstra already operates the largest mobile network in the country, covering over 95% of the Australian population and reaching approximately 1.86 million miles. Despite this massive coverage, why venture into satellite connectivity? Australia’s landmass is vast, totalling 2,968,464 7,688 square miles, making it the sixth largest country in the world. For years, the mass of the country has made it difficult for traditional terrestrial networks to provide steady connectivity to residents, businesses, and emergency services in far-reaching areas.
Due to the landmass, Telstra faced the challenge of providing equal connectivity to over 26 million citizens spread across it. The network’s inability to cover isolated locations, such as rural and remote areas, drove Telstra to look towards satellite as an alternative solution.
Australia’s First Satellite-to-Mobile Technology Explained
This technology uses satellites as a cellphone tower to provide users with a faster, more reliable network. The network is not bound by specific cell sites or areas covered by a single cell tower. It can reach further throughout the continent while providing equal connectivity to its users without delay or loss of signal.
This collaboration’s main objective is to strengthen and refine satellite-to-mobile text messaging capabilities for Australians. However, that’s not the full functionality this technology can bring to Telstra customers.
With satellite-to-mobile or direct-to-handset, customers can enjoy:
Improved network coverage.
Wider range of connectivity.
Additional connectivity for customers outside the mobile network range.
This is achieved through using satellites as cellphone towers. Direct-to-handset allows a larger group of individuals to access and use broadband internet services freely, regardless of terrestrial coverage.
To ensure the technology is ready for public use, Telstra’s engineers sent 55,00 text messages through the new satellite service during its testing phase in April. To further test the network, live trials were conducted outside Telstra’s network coverage in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales.
This venture follows an ongoing partnership with Starlink to provide Australians with Low Earth Orbit satellites. Similar to the new direct-to-handset technology, this aims to connect Telstra’s mobile network users residing outside metro areas with fixed broadband products and connectivity.
The two technologies are in line with Telstra’s mission to provide network services to areas struggling with reliable communications.
Conclusion
To combat the growing difficulties of offering network coverage that extends beyond major cities in Australia, Telstra launches satellite-to-mobile communications through a collaboration with Elon Musk’s Starlink company.
This collaboration brings high-speed connectivity to individuals residing anywhere in the large country of Australia with reliable satellite massaging. For the first stage of this technology, only the direct text messaging function is available for customers using devices from the Samsung Galaxy S25 range. This step bridges the communications gap for millions of Australians previously unable to communicate. This technology opens up Australians to economic opportunities that were previously unavailable to rural and regional areas.
