No mobile connection? No worries. Provided your phone has a satellite connection, you might soon be able to send a text.
As good as Australia’s mobile networks are, there are some regions where no mobile tower can be found. That’s bad news if you get lost out in the middle of the outback, or even just anywhere where no bars register on your phone.
Fortunately, there’s satellite.
A connection available from its orbit around the earth, satellite connections have previously been built for GPS navigation and satellite SOS services, but they’re about to be used for more.
Telstra has this week switched on something it calls “Telstra Satellite Messaging”, and it’s pretty direct over what it means: a satellite service that allows you to message anyone using a satellite-enabled phone.
Built with SpaceX and Starlink technology — which can be seen in the carrier ID on phones using the service — it essentially brings text messaging to devices that can connect to a satellite service. Given Telstra has been working with Starlink technology as part of its broadband offerings, the expansion to satellite should come as little surprise.
At launch, Telstra Satellite Messaging supports Samsung Galaxy S25 devices, including the S25 Ultra and potentially the recent S25 Edge, thanks to a recent software update powering on support for satellite.
But it could also be other phones: current iPhone models should support the technology — anything from the iPhone 14 and higher, which saw satellite services switched on a few years ago — or even conceivably someone using HMD’s satellite gadget, though we’re waiting to see what is supported by the platform.
For the past few months, Telstra engineers have been working on and testing the service, trialling it in remote parts of the country, with its satellite message service currently supporting text with (or without) emojis, though likely being used for data and calls in the future.
The good news is that subscribers to current Telstra Upfront mobile plans (or the equivalent business plan) will see the support rolled in, and it won’t be an optional extra you need to pay for.
Telstra Satellite Messaging isn’t an emergency service, however, and doesn’t replace the triple-zero or SOS services linked directly to watches and phones, with the messaging essentially extending your texting access to remote locations where Telstra’s towers simply don’t reach.
However, the service has switched on now. Provided you have the right phone, that means Telstra customers can try it out where 4G and 5G doesn’t reach, now that the 3G network has been switched off.
