Telstra has won the space race to be the first provider to offer a satellite to mobile text messaging service in Australia.
The technology, which effectively uses satellites instead of mobile phone towers, enhances mobile coverage in remote regions.
In a statement, Telstra said they we’re rolling out Telstra Satellite Messaging from this week to select customers with a Samsung Galaxy S25 device.
“As part of our collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell, eligible Telstra customers can enjoy an additional layer of connectivity to share text messages to friends or family when outside the coverage of our mobile network,” it said.
The statement said being able to send or receive a text message from an outdoor location that was beyond the range of the mobile network was a significant step forward in connectivity options for Australians.
“As a new technology, satellite to mobile messaging is currently limited to text messaging only, and, whilst complementary, this service is separate and performs differently to our mobile network.” Telstra said.
It said for eligible customers with a Samsung Galaxy S25 series device that had been updated with the latest Android software, Telstra Satellite Messaging would be added to core plan inclusions.
“This means you will be able to send SMS messages via the Starlink Direct to Cell satellite network to standard Australian and International numbers, in most places throughout Australia when the mobile network is unavailable and you are outdoors with a direct line of sight to the sky.”
It stated satellite messaging was an intermittent service with the time it takes to send and receive messages dependent on location, device, and the availability of Starlink Direct to Cell satellites.
“This means customers are likely to find that some messages are sent or received almost instantly, while others may take many minutes or longer.”
Telstra said the service would progressively be rolled out to more devices and satellite to mobile capability was expected to extend beyond text messaging to enable data and making calls in the future.
