Space to Gympie and beyond: satellite texts go live
Farmers will be among Telstra customers able to use Australia's first satellite-to-mobile text messaging service from Tuesday morning as the telco begins rolling out its collaboration with SpaceX.
Samsung Galaxy S25 series users will be able to connect to Starlink direct-to-cell satellites, allowing them to send texts from outdoor locations beyond the Telstra mobile network.
Other devices, including Apple iPhones, will be enabled in coming weeks or months, while satellite voice and low-speed data may come online sometime after 2027.
The technology will particularly benefit regional Australians, Telstra executive Channa Seneviratne said.
"I was up in the Gympie shire (in Queensland) talking to a farmer who said he had some really remote paddocks and didn't have mobile coverage there," Mr Seneviratne told AAP.
"He said he works late and he'd like to let the family know that he's OK ... so this product is perfect for those sorts of uses.
"It's a really exciting advancement in our technology for this massive land area that we call home."
Engineers have been testing the technology for much of 2025, going to far-flung places across Australia to check whether they can send texts, GPS coordinates and emojis via satellite.
Telstra has faced backlash from regional Australians in recent months after the closure of the 3G network in October left some in rural areas with patchy coverage.
The Regional Telecommunications Review also heard of unreliable mobile coverage in country areas, including in emergencies and after natural disasters.
Major telcos have long maintained improved satellite technology could bridge some of those gaps, with Starlink broadband connecting rural Australians for years.
Satellites are among several advances, along with repurposing the 3G spectrum for the 5G network, Mr Seneviratne said.
"Of course, we accept Aussies want more and we want to do more," he said.
The new service would not connect users directly to triple zero, but may help people get in touch with family or friends during an emergency.
"It's a move towards providing an additional safety net for all of those customers who live, work and play outside of terrestrial coverage."
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
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Ms Ley used her opening appearance in question time as leader to push the government on looming superannuation tax changes. But with the coalition commanding 43 of the 150 House of Representatives seats, the scale of the election wipeout was clear on the benches. Promising to deliver on election commitments, the prime minister batted away suggestions of plans for taxes on unrealised capital gains. "The time to run a scare campaign is before an election," he told parliament. "Tax was an issue at the last election ... we had not one tax cut but two tax cuts." With Labor holding 94 seats in the parliament, the government now sits on both sides of the aisle in the lower house, for the first time in the party's history. It was the newest members of parliament who took centre stage for the government during question time, with Labor questions all being asked by first-term MPs. 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Mr Clare also introduced legislation that would strengthen safety in the childcare system after promising to expedite the bill in response to shocking sexual abuse allegations against a Victorian childcare worker. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. Labor's newest MPs used the first full sitting day to lay out their own priorities for the term ahead. Banks MP Zhi Soon paid tribute to the multicultural community in southwest Sydney that helped raise him. "One moment I was eating a Devon sandwich, the next a curry laksa, a kibbeh, a banh xeo, or a pani puri," he told the chamber. "I'm a proud Asian-Australian, I'm a proud Malaysian-Australian, I'm a proud Chinese-Australian, but most of all, I am a proud Australian." 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Ms Ley used her opening appearance in question time as leader to push the government on looming superannuation tax changes. But with the coalition commanding 43 of the 150 House of Representatives seats, the scale of the election wipeout was clear on the benches. Promising to deliver on election commitments, the prime minister batted away suggestions of plans for taxes on unrealised capital gains. "The time to run a scare campaign is before an election," he told parliament. "Tax was an issue at the last election ... we had not one tax cut but two tax cuts." With Labor holding 94 seats in the parliament, the government now sits on both sides of the aisle in the lower house, for the first time in the party's history. It was the newest members of parliament who took centre stage for the government during question time, with Labor questions all being asked by first-term MPs. Among them were Ali France, who defeated former opposition leader Peter Dutton, and Sarah Witty who beat ex-Greens leader Adam Bandt in his seat of Melbourne. Independent MP Nicolette Boele, who narrowly won the blue-ribbon seat of Bradfield from the Liberals by 26 votes, also pressed the government on climate action during the first session. Although question time and first speeches from MPs made up much of the lower house agenda, the government wasted no time in kicking off its agenda with Education Minister Jason Clare using the first hour of sitting to introduce priority legislation. A proposal to slash university debt by 20 per cent for three million Australians was delivered in the house first-thing, after Labor campaigned heavily on the promise. People with an average HECS debt of $27,600 will have $5520 wiped from their loans. Mr Clare also introduced legislation that would strengthen safety in the childcare system after promising to expedite the bill in response to shocking sexual abuse allegations against a Victorian childcare worker. "We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk or when they're carried through the doors of an early education and care service," he told parliament. Labor's newest MPs used the first full sitting day to lay out their own priorities for the term ahead. Banks MP Zhi Soon paid tribute to the multicultural community in southwest Sydney that helped raise him. "One moment I was eating a Devon sandwich, the next a curry laksa, a kibbeh, a banh xeo, or a pani puri," he told the chamber. "I'm a proud Asian-Australian, I'm a proud Malaysian-Australian, I'm a proud Chinese-Australian, but most of all, I am a proud Australian." Former school teacher and Deakin MP Matt Gregg used his address to lay bare the consequences of social media on education and young Australians. "Some of the toughest teachers I've ever worked with have felt they need to leave the profession - harassed with misogynistic and other antisocial behaviours like never before," he said. "Young people themselves feel it in their own sense of self-worth - they know something is wrong. "We must continue to meet the challenges posed by social media and the landscape it's created, not with panic, but with serious, thoughtful action."
