Trials of fixed voice services are being run as part of the Australian Government's work on modernising universal telecommunications services arrangements. The trials will provide a clear, independent and transparent body of evidence to help inform whether low earth orbit satellites (LEOSats) are capable of delivering high quality voice services.
The Australian Government has contracted Scyne Advisory to conduct trials in 50 regional and remote regions across Australia. Trial sites will be progressively implemented to test LEOSat services, as well as existing NBN Co fixed wireless and satellite services to provide a comparison.
Information about the weather and climate conditions at each trial site will be recorded to better understand how these technologies perform over time in a variety of different conditions, including during the wet season in Northern Australia. Data will be collected on a range of key metrics, including service availability and latency.
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. There is limited real world-data on the performance of LEOSats in supporting reliable voice services.
Data from trials
Data collected through the trials will be progressively published on this webpage in coming months.
FAQs
Can I volunteer to be part of the trials?
We are not seeking existing services to test or provide feedback.
To ensure consistency and comparability of results, newly installed and connected services will exclusively be used for testing purposes. Key service metrics will be regularly tested on an automated basis and analysed.
How were trial locations selected? Where will trial sites be located? Can stakeholders nominate trial sites?
The trials will be 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. Exact locations will be finalised in coming months.
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 were designed to allow services to be tested across locations that represent a range of different climates.
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 will be 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 will consider Starlink's LEOSat service (as the only current LEOSat service commercially available for residential services) with NBN Co fixed wireless and satellite services to be tested in parallel to provide a comparison.
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.
When will results be available and will results be public?
The results of the trials will be made available on this page in coming months.