nbn has now successfully launched its wholesale broadband satellite service Sky Muster™, helping to bridge the digital divide by enabling fast broadband access for around 400,000 rural, regional and remote Australians.

 

Since blasting 36,000kms into space in October last year, the satellite and 10 nbn™ ground stations have undergone extensive testing and monitoring, including end-user trials.  Around 200 homes in regional and remote areas have trialled the Sky Muster™ satellite service and have been pleased with the results.  On average, the trials have delivered speeds of up to 25/5Mbps for end users trialling the service.*

 

nbn Chief Customer Officer John Simon said the state-of-the-art Sky Muster™ satellite is designed to provide access to fast broadband for many areas that have never had it before.

 

“The nbn Sky Muster™ satellite service will make a truly transformational difference to rural and remote Australians as we offer some of the world’s fastest and largest consumer satellite broadband plans to remote and isolated areas of Australia,” he said.

 

“Broadband is essential for modern living.  People in remote and isolated parts of the country will be better able to run their businesses, learn, stay in touch with friends and family and access new telehealth services online.  Australia is a uniquely vast country, making online connections increasingly critical. ”**

 

“We have teamed up with our delivery partners and now have a field force of over 600 trained technicians ready to connect homes around the country.

 

“It will take some time to get all eligible premises connected due to the sheer size of our 7.69 million km² country, so we ask for patience as our teams travel around to install the service.”

 

Mr Simon said that the launch of the Sky Muster™ satellite service is all part of nbn’s  goal of connecting eight million homes and businesses to fast broadband access by 2020.

 

“This is a proud day for us as it’s an important delivery milestone for nbn and rural Australia, and we are being recognised for our dedicated approach to remote households offering up to four times faster speeds and three to six times more data than existing consumer satellite services offering great value for end users,” he said. 

 

In its new report Satellite Broadband: A Global Comparison* telecoms research firm Ovum has found that when measured in terms of data allowance, download speed, upload speed and affordability that selected plans on the nbn Sky Muster™ service are world leading for satellite broadband services.

 

Ovum examined eighteen retail service providers internationally that offer satellite broadband services and found that selected plans based on nbn’s Sky Muster™ service delivered outstanding results across all service requirements, establishing itself as a world leader that will deliver a great service for regional and remote Australians.

 

“On a performance basis, the plans reviewed by Ovum which were based on nbn’s satellite broadband service were equal to the world’s best in terms of download speed and peak monthly data allowance,” the report says.

 

“On an affordability basis, Australian retail plans based on nbn’s Sky Muster™ service are available at close to the best global pricing on a price per GB basis across the benchmarked operators.”

 

Regional Australia Institute support:

Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Jack Archer welcomed the launch of the Sky Muster™ service. 

“Many of the places Sky Muster™ will connect to have virtually no access to broadband right now. To go from nothing to a high speed service will be a game changer for these places and the people that live there,” he said.

“We expect to see schools, health services, business and individuals across regional and remote Australia prosper as a result of this new service.”

 

National Rural Health Alliance support:

“The National Rural Health Alliance hopes that Sky Muster™ will lead to a reliable and faster internet connection for all rural and remote Australians as promised.  Such progress will now allow us to revolutionise our approach to health service delivery for isolated people.  With this platform for communication we can start to link rural health professionals and patients with city services for support and health care.  It’s an exciting time which needs on the ground infrastructure to ensure it works for all rural and remote people all day, every day.  That is our expectation. “  Kim Webber, CEO, National Rural Health Alliance

 

Grain Growers Limited support:

Grain Growers Limited, CEO Alicia Garden said farming businesses, like most other businesses, need fast, reliable internet connectivity, to operate to their potential.

 “Grain farmers not only rely on the internet for banking and other administrative transactions they increasingly need connectivity to optimise the actual growing of grain,” Ms Garden said.

 “Everyday farmers are collecting large volumes of data in regards to crop conditions, input usage and weather.

 “This data guides their decision making for farm practices and ultimately makes their operation more efficient and more profitable.  However to get this data from the paddock to the farm office reliable internet connectivity is required.   Disappointingly up until now this has not been a reality for many farmers.

 “The coming online of Sky Muster™ promises to change all this by providing farm businesses access to connectivity of a standard and price previously only enjoyed by their urban counterparts.” 

 

* These speeds were achieved by end users in the context of a trial and are not necessarily reflective of the speeds that will be experienced by end users.  End user experience including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network depends on the technology over which services are delivered to their premises and some factors outside our control like equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception and how the end user’s service provider designs its network.

** End user experience including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network depends on the technology over which services are delivered to their premises and some factors outside our control like equipment quality, software, broadband plans, signal reception and how the end user’s service provider designs its network.

*** Report commissioned by nbn

Ends

 

Media enquiries

Emma Gilmour	nbn™ Media Hotline
Mobile: 0447 073 290	Phone: 02 9927 4200
Email: emmagilmour@nbnco.com.au	Email: media@nbnco.com.au

 

Resources

Click here for video footage

Click here to read a blog on the Sky Muster™ satellite service

Download below the full Ovum Report Satellite Broadband: A Global Comparison

 

Notes to editors

• nbn is building a new and upgraded, fast broadband network to ensure that all communities across Australia will have access to fast broadband. Our goal is to connect eight million homes and businesses by 2020.
• The nbn™ Sky Muster™ satellite service is designed to deliver wholesale broadband speeds of up to 25 Mbps download and up to 5 Mbps upload to retail service providers. Your experience including the speeds actually achieved over the nbn™ network depends on the technology over which services are delivered to your premises and some factors outside our control like your equipment quality, software, broadband plans and how your service provider designs its network.
• Internet service providers will provide retail plans at different price points and data allowances, so eligible resident and businesses can choose a plan that best suits their needs.
• There are currently over 37,000 users on the interim satellite service across Australia.  nbn™ is aiming to migrate interim satellite users onto the new satellite within one year of the commercial launch (May 2017), while at the same time migrating new users onto the service.

 

How do I place an order?

• To find out if you are eligible for the Sky Muster™ service, please contact an internet service provider or check your address at www.nbn.com.au. For a list of internet service providers offering Sky Muster™ services, please check our website for updates.

 

How much will the Sky Muster™ service cost?

• The plans and associated pricing for homes and businesses will be set by internet service providers (nbn is a wholesale-only supplier). For a list of internet service providers offering Sky Muster™ services, please check our website for updates.

 

How long will it take for me to get connected?

• nbn has specified different service level targets with internet providers depending on the location. It is critical to understand that the size of Australia does mean that the activation process will take some time.  We expect to have 85,000 users on the Sky Muster™ service by the end of June 2017.  nbn encourages regional, rural and remote Australians interested in the Sky Muster™ service to contact their internet provider to discuss indicative timeframes and a suitable plan for their needs.

 

For more information, visit www.nbn.com.au