Telstra customer? Here’s what the telco giant’s new plan means for you

Australians are set to benefit from Telstra’s new satellite service as well as its plan to fully move on from 3G.

Regional Australians are set to benefit from a new competitor in the direct-to-satellite space, with the nation’s Telstra following rival Optus to launch a service.

The nation’s largest telco announced it was “pioneering” a service which would be ready in 2024 and available as a trial to customers on Tuesday as it presented new plans to connect fibre across its cities and presented an update to investors.

The service, announced by Telstra’s executive director of technology development Channa Seneviratne, was one of a handful of announcements which will change connectivity for customers across the nation.

Direct-to-handset

Direct-to-handset services allow users to connect to a mobile network via satellites deployed into lower earth orbit without the addition of any extra hardware.

Telstra is the second telco in Australia to announce it was launching the service, following rival telco Optus which announced a deal with SpaceX in July this year.

Mr Seneviratne said it was important to understand how direct-to-satellite worked, and the service was by no means a replacement for Telstra’s terrestrial network which has about 1000 times more capacity.

“With direct-to-handset, we will be pioneering a service ourselves in 2024 and we plan to offer it to our customers as a trial service,” he said.

Telstra boss Vicki Brady was asked who the telco had partnered with for the deal but said she was unable to disclose that information.

It’s understood Australian telcos have been eyeing direct-to-handset services for several months, with Optus nabbing the deal with SpaceX exclusively.

Mr Seneviratne said direct-to-handset services would be limited as its launched, with voice services not expected for a few years. “Initially in 2024, it’s a text message service,” he said.

“Current handsets are not really tuned or designed to work with satellites, even those in LEO. It its current format, we won’t see data (on the service), that’s five or six years down the track.”

Starlink

Telstra has given an update on its deal with Elon Musks’ Starlink, with new voice and broadband services available from March next year.

Mr Seneviratne said the service, which uses Starlink hardware typically installed on a customer’s roof, would allow customers to access broadband via a satellite’s network in lower earth orbit.

Telstra network engineering executive Channa Seneviratne.

The services uses a Telstra smart modem 3 which has been configured to work with a satellite and offer both voice and data services exclusively in Australia.

The telco on Tuesday also announced it would now on-sell Starlink to local and overseas customers. The overseas component is understood to be data only.

Regional sharing

Telstra boss Vicki Brady has doubled down on her message about the future of connectivity being a joint effort, adding Telstra would continue to look for partners in regional areas.

“Commercial-based sharing, particularly in regional Australia or with mobile infrastructure, we think over the long run would be a net positive,” she said.

“We do believe that commercial sharing arrangements, particularly for regional Australia … are needed in the country.”

100,000sq km of network

The company also confirmed it was 80 per cent of the way through a new plan to increase mobile coverage by 100,000sq km under its T25 strategy.

“By the end of FY23, not even halfway through, we had delivered 80 per cent of that. I guess that’s an indication of our commitment to investing and providing coverage to all Australians,” Mr Seneviratne said.

3G network shutdown

Telstra customers in areas with a 3G network will soon benefit from its shutdown as the telco looks to provide equivalent or better coverage.

The company said some 3G assets including spectrum would be used to provide 4G coverage.

“We are shutting down 3G but we are providing equivalent coverage or better with 4G,” he said. “4G provides better data speeds and better voice quality,” Mr Seneviratne said.

Telstra’s Internet of Things network was built on the back of its 4G network which spans 4.4 million square kilometres. “By the end of 2024 with 4 coverage, it’ll be close to 5 million square kilometres,” Mr Seneviratne said.

Telstra said it would deploy some OneWeb base stations to remote areas as 3G networks were being shut down which could provide back haul services.

Originally published as Telstra customer? Here’s what the telco giant’s new plan means for you