Trials of fixed voice services are being run as part of the Australian Government's work on modernising universal telecommunications services arrangements. The trials are collecting data to help inform whether Low Earth Orbit satellites (LEOSats) are capable of delivering high quality voice services, and to what extent weather or other climatic conditions influence performance.
The Australian Government has contracted Scyne Advisory to conduct trials in 50 regional and remote regions across Australia. At each trial site a LEOSat service is being trialled with, NBN Co fixed wireless or satellite services trialled in parallel to provide a comparison.
Information about the weather and climate conditions at each trial site is being recorded to better understand how these technologies perform over time in a variety of different conditions, including during the wet season in Northern Australia.
While there is significant stakeholder interest in the promise of LEOSats for providing greater options for voice services in remote areas of Australia, we recognise that services need to be robust and reliable. The trials will help provide real-world data on the performance of LEOSats in supporting reliable voice services.
Data from trials
An interactive dashboard with initial data collected from November 2024 to February 2025 is available. The dashboard provides an overall summary of results for key measures of voice service performance, as well as allowing results to be reviewed against local weather conditions recorded at each testing site.
The dashboard will be updated on a monthly basis to incorporate further results. Feedback on the design and functionality of the dashboard is welcome and can be emailed to techtrials@infrastructure.gov.au.
FAQs
Where are the trial sites?
The table below sets out an overview of current trial sites.
| State / territory | Region (ABS Statistical Area Level 2) | Region | Technology being tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Gundagai | Adjungbilly | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NSW | Yass Surrounds | Binalong | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| NSW | Casino | Casino | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| NSW | Deniliquin | Deniliquin | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| NSW | Moree Surrounds | Mungindi | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NSW | Taree Surrounds | Upper Lansdowne | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| NSW | Far West | Wilcannia | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NSW | Mudgee Surrounds—West | Cullenbone | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NT | Alligator | Batchelor | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NT | Humpty Doo | Humpty Doo | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| NT | Petermann - Simpson | Petermann | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| NT | Katherine | Uralla | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Clermont | Clermont | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Woodford—D'Aguilar | Delaney's Creek | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| QLD | Croydon - Etheridge | Georgetown | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Carpentaria | Gregory | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Mareeba | Mareeba | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| QLD | Tara | Meandarra | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Barcaldine—Blackall | Tambo | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| QLD | Banana | Valentine Plains | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| SA | Berri | Berri | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| SA | Ceduna | Ceduna | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| SA | Nuriootpa | Nuriootpa | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| SA | Outback | Oodnadatta | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| SA | Moonta | Paramatta | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| SA | Naracoorte Surrounds | Struan | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| SA | Peterborough—Mount Remarkable | Wilmington | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| TAS | Triabunna - Bicheno | Coles Bay | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| TAS | Cygnet | Cygnet | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| TAS | St Helens - Scamander | Fingal | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| TAS | Northern Midlands | Ross | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| TAS | Sheffield—Railton | Sheffield | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| TAS | West Coast | Strahan | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| VIC | Mount Baw Baw Region | Baw Baw | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| VIC | Southern Grampians | Dunkeld | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| VIC | Bright—Mount Beauty | Falls Creek | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| VIC | Paynesville | Goon Nure | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| VIC | Gordon | Gordon | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| VIC | Stawell | Halls Gap | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| VIC | Golden Plains—South | Inverleigh | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| WA | Wagin | Cuballing | NBN Fixed Wireless, Starlink |
| WA | Gingin—Dandaragan | Karakin | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| WA | Leinster—Leonora | Leonora | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| WA | Meekatharra | Murchison | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| WA | Ashburton | Onslow | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| WA | Pemberton | Windy Harbour | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
| Offshore | King Island | King Island | NBN Sky Muster, Starlink |
How were trial locations selected?
All trial sites are located outside the NBN fixed line footprint in regional and remote regions where baseline service quality is most important because fewer services options are available.
Some stakeholders have raised concerns that service quality of alternative technologies could potentially be impacted by harsh climatic conditions such as heavy rain, as well as issues such as heat, dust, and humidity. As a result, the trials are being conducted so that services are being tested across locations that represent a range of different weather and climatic conditions that can be experienced in regional and remote areas.
How long will the trials run?
The trials will run through to mid-2025. This will allow for consideration of how services perform over the northern Australia wet season.
Will the trials consider consumer feedback and issues such as ease of installation, equipment setup and consumer support?
The trials are focused on providing a quantifiable, independent and transparent evidence base regarding the quality of alternative technologies. While issues such as setup and consumer support are clearly important, the primary goal is to consider the performance and reliability of underlying services.
What technologies are being tested?
Through consultation on universal service modernisation and other avenues such as the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Working Group, many stakeholders have expressed interest in the promise of LEOSats to cost-effectively support universal service outcomes across large areas of Australia.
Due to their lower altitude orbits, LEOSat services generally have significantly lower latency compared to geostationary satellites, which is important in supporting quality voice communications.
The trials are testing Starlink's LEOSat service (as the only current LEOSat service commercially available for residential services), as well as testing NBN Co fixed wireless and satellite services in parallel to provide a comparison.
What testing methodology is being used?
At each site, automated testing occurs on a 24/7 basis. Tests are not continuous but are conducted in 15-minute blocks to provide robust longitudinal data while balancing a manageable dataset size. During each 15-minute block, three attempts to make voice calls are made using the Starlink connection and similarly, three voice calls are attempted over the relevant NBN connection (either NBN fixed wireless or NBN Sky Muster as applicable).
This allows for assessment of successful call setup and termination, and to consider network variability, delays or dropouts that can either impact call quality or prevent or cause voice calls to abnormally disconnect. The periodic sampling approach means that confidence increases over time that results are representative of performance.
Will additional LEOSats or other technologies be tested?
If further LEOSat or other viable services become available at sufficient scale, these could be added into the trials.