Australia puts LEO satellite-based fixed voice calls to the test

Trials of fixed voice services delivered via LEO satellites are now underway in Australia as part of the government's plan to modernize universal telecommunications services.

Gigi Onag, Senior Editor, APAC

October 23, 2024

2 Min Read
satellite in the sky
(Source: Jose Luis Stephens/Alamy Stock Photo)

The Australian government has announced that trials of fixed voice services delivered via low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are now underway, with trial sites being established in 50 regional and remote locations across Australia.

The trials are part of the government's plan to modernize the country's universal telecommunications services.

As the only LEO satellite service commercially available to residential users, Starlink will be tested in parallel with NBN fixed wireless and satellite services to provide comparison.

Scyne Advisory, which won the AU$6 million (US$4 million) contract from the federal government, will run the trials for ten months until September 30, 2025.  It will track the reliability and quality of voice calls and test the impact of weather conditions on services.

Scyne Advisory is the former public sector consulting arm of PwC in Australia.

Trials outside the NBN fixed line footprint

The trials will be located outside the NBN fixed line footprint in regions where baseline service quality is most important because fewer service options are available. Exact locations will be finalized in the coming months.

Data collected will be independent of industry and made publicly available beginning next month.

"The Albanese Government is committed to modernizing telco services in the interest of all Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional Australia, and I look forward to data from the trials helping us to consider and deliver a more modern and effective universal service framework," said Communications Minister Michelle Rowland in a statement.

The Australian government has been reviewing the country's universal telecommunications service arrangements in light of changes in available technologies and consumer preferences in recent years.

By the end of 2024, the government expects over 97% of Australian premises to have access to high-speed NBN broadband services capable of supporting high-quality voice services. Satellite and other technologies also promise to bring more voice options to Australia's most remote areas.

However, the government pointed out that changes to current arrangements will only be considered if there are tested and proven alternatives to existing technologies and services.

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About the Author

Gigi Onag

Senior Editor, APAC, Light Reading

Gigi Onag is Senior Editor, APAC, Light Reading. She has been a technology journalist for more than 15 years, covering various aspects of enterprise IT across Asia-Pacific.

She started with regional IT publications under CMP Asia (now Informa), including Asia Computer Weekly, Intelligent Enterprise Asia and Network Computing Asia and Teledotcom Asia. This was followed by stints with Computerworld Hong Kong and sister publications FutureIoT and FutureCIO. She had contributed articles to South China Morning Post, TechTarget and PC Market among others.

She interspersed her career as a technology editor with a brief sojourn into public relations before returning to journalism, joining the editorial team of Mix Magazine, a MICE publication and its sister publication Business Traveller Asia Pacific.

Gigi is based in Hong Kong and is keen to delve deeper into the region’s wide wild world of telecoms.

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