The service was funded by a $7.35 million investment from the federal government and uses both medium Earth Orbit and geostationary satellites.
The telco reports that school students alone can now access download speeds of 250 Mbps and 50 Mbps upload during learning hours.
Federal member for Bean, David Smith MP, said improving Norfolk Island’s connectivity is something the local community has long called for.
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“Better internet capability will improve learning at Norfolk Island Central School, boost the services at Norfolk Island Health and Residential Aged Care Service, and also unlock new opportunities for on-island businesses,” he said.
Telstra operates a network of Earth stations across the Asia-Pacific region, including Oxford Falls in NSW and Bendigo in Victoria, and partners with Viasat, Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb.
The Norfolk deal was also in conjunction with state-owned telco Norfolk Telecom and the island’s council.
In order to install faster internet, large equipment needed to be shipped to the remote island, licensing needed to be quickly sorted with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and radio spectrum also needed to be accessed so the dishes could talk to the satellites.
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The news comes after a string of announcements from local companies promising to provide internet services to previously unconnectable regions.
Last month, for example, TPG revealed it would work with Lynk Global to launch a “straight-to-mobile” satellite service for customers living in remote areas
The agreement will, uniquely, not require customers to obtain any specific hardware and will instead work on all compatible handsets.
It follows a similar agreement between Optus and larger satellite rival Starlink.
Starlink, meanwhile, has itself pressed ahead with the launch of its portable satellite dish that allows users to access reliable internet on the go.
The device, which resembles a large laptop, works like a traditional dongle but allows users to go online without needing to be within the range of a phone mast.
The new mini dish costs $799 and can be paired with two plans: “Mobile Regional”, which costs $174 per month and offers unlimited mobile data, or “Mini Roam”, which costs $80 per month for 50 GB of data.
Crucially, the plan can be paused or unpaused anytime, opening it up to hikers and travellers who only want to use it for limited periods of the year.
Finally, Telstra in March became the first of the big two telcos to make Starlink available to residential homes in remote areas.
Starlink only launched in Australia in 2021 but was previously only available via a permanent, fixed connection.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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