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Telstra has enabled satellite access to a small group of smartphone apps, allowing customers to check Google maps, view forecasts and WhatsApp messages from parts of Australia not reached by its mobile network.
The extension, which launches on Tuesday, takes the Starlink-powered service beyond text messages, which Telstra launched 13 months ago, and is a first for the Australian telecom operator. It comes with a significant caveat: customers still cannot contact Triple Zero via satellite.
Telstra has enabled satellite access for a small group of smartphone apps.Bloomberg
The list of supported applications is short because developers have to include and optimize each one for satellite communications, and only minor data is transferred over the link. Supported apps include Apple Maps, Google Maps and AllTrails for navigation; iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal and Google Messages; Apple Weather, AccuWeather and Google Weather; and Google Fitness.
Access requires an iPhone 13 or later or a Samsung Galaxy S26 and an eligible pre-approved consumer or business plan. Pixel phones and other Samsung models are expected to launch by the end of 2026. Customers also need to log into applications before they leave terrestrial coverage, as satellite connectivity cannot handle standard web authentication or application downloads.
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Telstra says more than 26 million text messages have been sent or received via the satellite since its launch last year. Daily connections now average over 200,000, up from around 80,000 at launch, and 2.9 million customers have connected at least once.
Hannah Chong, Telstra’s head of network strategy and commercial engineering, said the service had an unintended use. During Victoria’s bushfires this year, around Longwood and Harcourt, satellite connections tripled after fire damage and power outages knocked out parts of the mobile network. Telstra employees volunteering on fire brigades used satellite messages to share GPS coordinates.
“They said it really provided that extra level of connection in this situation that they didn’t have before,” Chong told this headline.
The announcement follows a network outage this month that at its peak cut about 45 percent of calls and data sessions. During this outage, the satellite service also went down because it authenticates clients through the terrestrial network. Telstra chief executive Gerard Treacy told a Senate hearing that “there is a high failure rate there too”.
Chong said the satellite cannot be relied upon in an emergency. “I think there’s an element of peace of mind there,” she said, describing caravanners whose families were worried as they headed into the desert.
Telstra chief executive Vicky Brady has apologized for the network outage this month.Louise Kennerley
The federal government is reviewing emergency calling laws written for landline and mobile communications; Telstra, Optus and TPG said the rules were not ready for satellite or text access to Triple Zero. A separate universal outdoor mobile commitment, requiring the three operators to provide basic outdoor voice and SMS coverage virtually anywhere with a sky view, comes into effect from 1 December 2027.
Telstra waited until Starlink had 640 to 650 point-to-point satellites in orbit before ensuring Australia had full geographic coverage. Chong said the size of the continent works against this. In niche markets such as New Zealand and Japan, SpaceX directs beams that will fall into the ocean back onto land. Australia’s population lives on the coast, where additional capacity is least needed.
“Physics is physics,” Chong said, separating “light years” in what satellite and terrestrial networks can transmit. Voice services, faster data transmission and machine-to-machine communications are expected as new satellites are equipped with larger antennas and 3GPP works on extraterrestrial network standards.
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Telstra is currently the only Australian telecom operator to offer satellite services on mobile devices. Optus signed a contract with Starlink in 2023 but has repeatedly delayed its launch; TPG conducted the tests using the 850 MHz spectrum. Chong expects the situation to level out. “In the long term, we expect some form of partnership between different service providers,” she said.
Research firm Gartner predicts the number of direct device connections in Australia and New Zealand will exceed 670,000 this year and 1.5 million in 2027, with end-user spending rising from about US$23 million ($32.8 million) to US$66 million ($94.3 million). Analyst Khurram Shahzad said operators are chasing a 10 to 30 percent increase in average revenue per user without building towers. He also predicted that full outdoor geographic coverage would become a basic customer expectation within five years, eroding the coverage advantage Telstra has spent decades building.
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David Swan is technology editor of The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technical editor of an Australian newspaper.Connect via X or e-mail.