Telstra launches Starlink satellite to mobile texting service

Telstra has launched its satellite to mobile texting service in collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, allowing eligible users to send messages outside of the telco’s network.

With the new service, users will be able to send SMS messages via Starlink’s Direct to Cell network to standard Australian and international numbers when its mobile network is unavailable and the device is outdoors with a direct line of site to the sky.

Telstra consumer executive Tom Beach wrote in a blog post that it is an intermittent service, with message sending and receiving speed dependent on location, device and the availability of Starlink Direct to Cell satellites.

As a result, messages may be sent or received near instantly, or they may take minutes or longer.

As of launch, the service is limited to text messaging only and requires a Telstra Upfront Mobile plan or equivalent business plan, as well as a device from the Samsung Galaxy S25 series.

For users that are eligible, satellite messaging will be added to their core plan inclusions at no additional cost.

Beach wrote that the service is expected to be extended past text messaging and to include data and calls in the future. Additionally, ARN understands that compatibility for iPhone devices is expected soon.

Coverage for satellite texting includes mainland Australia and Tasmania but excludes the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia and remote offshore territories and islands of Australia.

Users also cannot text Australian emergency responders directly via the service as well.

“Telstra Satellite Messaging will mostly benefit people who live or travel outside mobile networks in regional and remote parts of the country, for the farmer in the back paddock who wants to check on when their family member will be getting back from town; for the outdoor enthusiast in the middle of a hike checking in with family or letting them know they’ll be late home; or for the road trippers experiencing a flat tyre and needing to reach out for help,” Beach wrote.

The launch of the service comes months after the telco provided an update on its satellite to mobile service back in January.

Local professionals in the satellite communication space however have placed scepticism on Starlink and associated risks with its services.