Telstra sends 500 SMS via Starlink in live messaging trial

Telstra has started a live trial of satellite-to-mobile messaging in regional Australia, ahead of a commercial launch of the service “in the coming months”.

Image credit: Telstra

Technology development and innovation executive Channa Seneviratne said in a blog post that “500-plus” messages had been sent so far in the live trial, which is running “in areas outside of Telstra’s mobile network coverage in NT, WA, Qld and NSW”.

The trial is also testing the ability of the service to send “GPS coordinates and emojis via text message.”

Testers are using Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra handset. 

Seneviratne said that “when satellite-to-mobile launches, those with a supported device, up-to-date software and [an] eligible plan won’t need to do anything or activate any settings to access the satellite to mobile service.”

Details of these conditions were not immediately available.

Telstra is using Starlink services to deliver the new capability, under a deal struck at the start of this year.

Outside of the live trial, Seneviratne said that so far “more than 55,000 text messages” have been sent using the service since the start of April.

“We’ve been testing and refining it for Australian conditions,” he said.

Satellite-to-mobile is also called direct to handset (DTH) or direct to cell (DTC) technology.

When it launches commercially, the service will support only SMS, not internet messaging apps, Seneviratne noted.

Services would be available “on mainland Australia and Tasmania, excluding the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia.”

“Once connected to a Starlink direct to cell satellite, the phone will display ‘Telstra SpaceX’ on the network banner,” Seneviratne said.

Users will need to hold their phone to the sky for potentially a few minutes, as the service is “intermittent”.

Seneviratne added that the service is not intended to be used in an emergency.

“This is currently really a ‘just-in-case’ connectivity layer that allows a person to make contact and let someone know they are ok when they are stuck outside Telstra’s mobile coverage footprint with a flat tyre or running a bit late from a hike,” he said.

“It is, however, not designed to be an emergency service as you cannot text Australian emergency responders directly and calls are not yet available using our satellite to mobile messaging service. 

“It is always recommended that anyone planning on visiting remote regions should plan ahead and take extra precautions in the case of an emergency.”