Telstra Taps Starlink for Space-Based Connectivity in the Outback
- By CDOTrends editors
- January 18, 2025

Australian telco Telstra is deepening its relationship with Elon Musk’s Starlink in a new deal to offer domestic customers satellite-to-mobile text messaging.
Telstra’s network is Australia’s largest and covers 99.7% of the population who live in over 3 million square kilometers. However, Australia is 7.6 million square kilometers in size, much of which remains uninhabited.
“Australia’s landmass is vast and there will always be large areas where mobile and fixed networks do not reach, and this is where satellite technology will play a complementary role to our existing networks,” Telstra said in a statement.
The collaboration will initially focus on testing and refining a Satellite-to-Mobile text messaging capability for Australian conditions before a commercial launch.
Telstra already partners with SpaceX’s Starlink network to deliver voice and broadband services in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
Telstra offers bundled home phone and Starlink broadband services, which have proved popular with the community of ‘grey nomads’ — retired Australians who travel the country in their caravans.
“Satellite-to-Mobile is one of the most exciting areas in the whole telco space and creates a future where outdoor connectivity for basic services, starting with text messages and, eventually, voice and low rates of data, may be possible from some of Australia’s most remote locations,” Telstra said.
Satellite-to-Mobile is most relevant to people in regional and remote areas of the country and currently allows users to send text messages only.
This “just-in-case" connectivity layer allows a person to contact for help or let someone know they are safe outside their carrier's mobile coverage footprint.
Telstra plans to expand the agreement to cover voice and low-speed data for smartphones in the long term, using the technology not just in emergencies.
Telstra is committed to rolling out its 5G network to cover 95% of the Australian population by mid-2026.
Image credit: iStockphoto/bennymarty