For generations, the old copper network or ‘landline’ phones provided this sense of community – the kind of connectivity that everyone in the country came to rely on.
But while the copper network has served our rural and remote customers well, like all aging technologies it can no longer be relied on to meet the communication and data demands of modern Australia.
To support Telstra’s Universal Service Guarantee’s principals of delivering high-quality voice and broadband services we must transition to alternative technologies, including mobile, fixed wireless, and satellite. In recent years, all have made great strides in capacity, speed and reliability but none more so than satellite technology.
As you may know, satellites have been with us for a long time. A satellite is basically a self-contained communications system in space that uses radio waves to send and receive signals to antennas on Earth. For a satellite to deliver communications to people on the ground, it needs to interact with on-the-ground infrastructure.
A lot of today’s technology relies on satellite connectivity, including watching TV, using phones, getting weather updates and navigating using GPS. Satellite technology enables huge capacity (important for data-rich technologies like edge computing, new 5G usage and IoT) and cost-effective coverage to hard-to-reach places.
There are three types of satellite technology that are named after the different orbits they operate in including LEO (Low Earth Orbit), MEO (Medium Earth Orbit), and GEO (Geostationary or Geosynchronous Orbit).
Each satellite type is important in different ways. For example, LEO Satellites orbit earth 50 times closer than GEO satellites. This means more capacity, faster speeds and reduced response times for less delayed voice.
When used together in what satellite companies call a ‘constellation’, the different satellite types provide the best possible connectivity for our remote area customers. For example, GEO and LEO work together in a multi-orbit hybrid combination to provide consistent coverage in hard-to-reach places.
We are also seeing the first emergence of ‘direct to handset’ capability via LEO satellite. We’ve already begun assessing this technology and if it proves effective it could provide near universal outdoor coverage, initially for text but with potential to extend to voice and data usage.
To take full advantage of what satellites have to offer, Telstra is partnering with key organisations that deliver satellite solutions. The latest of these is our arrangement with leading LEO satellite provider, OneWeb.
OneWeb is building its constellation and currently has 428 LEO satellites, more than two thirds of its planned fleet. Launches this year are expected to enable the company to offer commercial connectivity services globally later in 2022, and we will work together to determine what this looks like for Australia and the region soon.
According to Telstra’s Commercial Engineering Executive, Sri Amirthalingam, using a combination of satellite technology may prove to be one way to provide a replacement service as the landline telephone (copper) service is phased out, but any complete solution provision is likely to be several years away.
“In a very short time, making a call on the old copper network will seem like watching a movie on video cassette. Both are outmoded technologies that had their day but have been replaced by more efficient, faster and better technologies. Satellite technology is one of those.
“Working with OneWeb may allow Telstra to boost connectivity in hard-to-reach places across rural and regional Australia with a combination of our mobile network and OneWeb’s LEO satellite technology.
“It also opens the possibility of bringing high-speed, low latency connectivity from space, as well as supporting enterprise and small businesses across Australia, and improving the resilience of our existing network.
“By using OneWeb’s LEO technology, we hope in time to make progress closing the digital divide by putting connectivity into the hands of those currently without it.
“Of course, it’s not a one-size-fits all world, and it will take a range of these existing and emerging technologies for us to meet the future connectivity needs of regional and remote Australians.”
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