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Consumers and small businesses will be able send text messages via satellite
Australian telco Telstra has announced the launch of its direct-to-device (D2D) satellite text messaging service through its partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink.
Customers on selected plans and with compatible devices (currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy S25) will be able to use Starlink’s satellite network to send and receive text messages wherever they can see the sky.
Starlink’s low Earth orbit satellite constellation currently covers all of Australia except for the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia and remote offshore territories and islands.
For customers with compatible plans and devices, all that is required to access the new satellite service is a simple software update, with Telstra suggesting that all eligible customers will be enrolled in the coming weeks.
Enrolled customers will automatically be connected to the satellite network whenever traditional terrestrial mobile coverage is unavailable.
Telstra first began working with SpaceX to make use of its Starlink constellation for enterprise customers back in 2023. The partnership was expanded to include D2D messaging with Starlink at the start of this year, with extensive testing of the messaging service running over previous months.
For now, Starlink’s D2D service is limited to the text messaging and even that, Telstra warns will be somewhat intermittent in delivery; customers are being warned they may face delays in sending and receiving messages based on factors such as their location and the proximity of the nearest orbital satellite.
“This means customers are likely to find that some messages are sent or received almost instantly, while others may take many minutes or longer,” said Telstra’s Tom Beach on the company website.
In future, Starlink’s D2D services will be expanded to include voice and data services. The number of compatible devices will also increase.
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