‘Significant': Remote text service launched
A new satellite to text messaging service has launched in Australia making it possible to send or receive texts from outdoor locations when your mobile coverage is out of range.
Telstra has launched the product to give mobile customers the ability to send or receive texts beyond the network's mobile range, benefitting users who live work or travel in regional or remote parts of Australia.
The service will help farmers in a back paddock, a person on a remote hike or someone who's broken down or has a flat tyre on a country road. Telstra has launched Australia's first satellite to mobile text messaging service that works when your network is out of range. Supplied Credit: Supplied
Telstra engineers and employees have been testing the technology for months in some of the nation's most remote locations.
Currently, the service only supports texts messages (and emojis) on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series family, but future satellite to mobile capability is expected to extend to other devices, data and making calls.
Telstra consumer executive Tom Beach said the service was part of a collaboration with Space X's Starlink Direct to Cell. Telstra is launching the first satellite to mobile text messaging service in Australia. Supplied Credit: Supplied
'Being able to send or receive a text message from an outdoor location that is beyond the range of our mobile network is a significant step forward and reinforces our commitment to pioneer new connectivity options for Australians,' he said.
'As a new technology, satellite to mobile messaging is currently limited to text messaging only, and, whilst complementary, this service is separate and performs differently to our mobile network.
'Following launch, we will continue to test and refine the service so we can continue to offer the best product we can for customers.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
11 hours ago
- The Age
The staggering amount of money Elon Musk lost in one day as Trump feud boils over
Minute by minute, post by post, Elon Musk's very public, extremely online feud with US President Donald Trump sliced into his vaunted status as the world's richest person. The final damage at day's end: $US34 billion ($52 billion) erased from his personal net worth, the second-largest loss ever in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the 500 wealthiest people on the planet. The only bigger one: his own wipeout in November 2021. The tit-for-tat was surreal, and also, in some ways, potentially inevitable for a US president who has used the Oval Office to dress down world leaders and a chief executive who has a history of launching himself from one crusade to another. The trigger was Musk's sudden push, just days after he departed from Washington, to muster enough support to 'kill' Trump's signature 'Big, Beautiful Bill'. Musk, who is still the world's richest person with a vast $US334.5 billion fortune, has endured any number of routs before. But the stakes are higher than ever in contending with Trump, as the president laid bare when he proposed ending Musk's government contracts, in a potential blow to Tesla and SpaceX revenue. Loading In true Musk fashion, the billionaire responded on X with five words uttered by Clint Eastwood's character in Sudden Impact: 'Go ahead, make my day.' He followed up by alleging, without evidence, that Trump's name appears in the files related to the late New York financier Jeffrey Epstein, and then said SpaceX would begin to decommission its Dragon spacecraft – a critical link to space for the US, which depends on Musk's company to ferry cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. The war of words is a sharp departure from the months following Trump's election win, when Musk's net worth reached an all-time high approaching $US500 billion. His companies' valuations surged, buoyed by expectations that they would benefit from the billionaire's relationship with Trump and his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk officially left Washington last week. The escalating spat raises questions about the path forward for Tesla, which once appealed to climate-conscious drivers but has since become synonymous with Trump's MAGA priorities, alienating traditional, left-leaning consumers. The electric carmaker's shares fell 14 per cent on Thursday to $US284.70. Musk, for his part, polled his X followers on Thursday about whether it is 'time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80 per cent in the middle'.
Perth Now
17 hours ago
- Perth Now
Apple says competition changes could open door to scams
Australians could lose more money to fraudsters, miss out on cutting-edge tech features, and fail to see lower prices under changes proposed to boost competition on digital platforms. US tech giant Apple issued the warnings on Friday, urging the government not to "follow a handful of untested laws" from other countries in its submission to a Digital Competition Regime consultation. But experts say consumers could benefit from greater competition, with the pushback coming as Apple fights regulatory changes in Europe and the US that could force it to allow third-party payments without taking commissions. Changes were proposed to rules governing digital platforms following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platforms inquiry, with consultation on regulations closing in February. Australian businesses and consumers needed greater rights on digital platforms and up-front rules to govern their conduct, the consultation paper said, as a concentration of power could lead to "higher prices, reduced choice and lower innovation". Apple rejected these outcomes in its submission and, in a separate statement, insisted the company's ecosystem helped developers and security features protected consumers from fraud and scams. "We are concerned the proposed digital competition regime will chill this innovation and threaten user security," the company said in a statement. "We welcome the opportunity to continue engaging with the government on behalf of our Australian customers." In its submission, Apple objected to changes that would allow users to "side-load" third-party apps onto their devices, force the company to accept third-party payments without commissions, and demand interoperability with other platforms. Australian regulators should create their laws rather than use other countries' rules as a template, the submission said. "Apple believes the ultimate framework should be tailored to the needs of Australian consumers and businesses, rather than follow a handful of untested laws in other jurisdictions that could pose significant unintended and negative consequences if implemented in Australia," the submission said. The European Union's Digital Markets Act had delayed the launch of AI features on Apple devices, the company said, and forced it to permit pornographic and torrenting apps on its platform. Both the European Commission and US courts are demanding Apple change its policies and accept third-party in-app payments without commissions following the act and a court case launched by Fortnite creator Epic Games. Changing laws to bring more competition to platforms would benefit Australian consumers, Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said, although he warned many users were unlikely to change their iPhone settings or install unapproved software. "The European experience has shown that most people keep the default settings even as the platform does open up," he said. "Apple users tend to value the security and privacy of the platform." Changes proposed in the Digital Competition Regime included preventing tech companies from prioritising their products, removing payment restrictions, and mandating timely app approval processes.
West Australian
17 hours ago
- West Australian
Apple says competition changes could open door to scams
Australians could lose more money to fraudsters, miss out on cutting-edge tech features, and fail to see lower prices under changes proposed to boost competition on digital platforms. US tech giant Apple issued the warnings on Friday, urging the government not to "follow a handful of untested laws" from other countries in its submission to a Digital Competition Regime consultation. But experts say consumers could benefit from greater competition, with the pushback coming as Apple fights regulatory changes in Europe and the US that could force it to allow third-party payments without taking commissions. Changes were proposed to rules governing digital platforms following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platforms inquiry, with consultation on regulations closing in February. Australian businesses and consumers needed greater rights on digital platforms and up-front rules to govern their conduct, the consultation paper said, as a concentration of power could lead to "higher prices, reduced choice and lower innovation". Apple rejected these outcomes in its submission and, in a separate statement, insisted the company's ecosystem helped developers and security features protected consumers from fraud and scams. "We are concerned the proposed digital competition regime will chill this innovation and threaten user security," the company said in a statement. "We welcome the opportunity to continue engaging with the government on behalf of our Australian customers." In its submission, Apple objected to changes that would allow users to "side-load" third-party apps onto their devices, force the company to accept third-party payments without commissions, and demand interoperability with other platforms. Australian regulators should create their laws rather than use other countries' rules as a template, the submission said. "Apple believes the ultimate framework should be tailored to the needs of Australian consumers and businesses, rather than follow a handful of untested laws in other jurisdictions that could pose significant unintended and negative consequences if implemented in Australia," the submission said. The European Union's Digital Markets Act had delayed the launch of AI features on Apple devices, the company said, and forced it to permit pornographic and torrenting apps on its platform. Both the European Commission and US courts are demanding Apple change its policies and accept third-party in-app payments without commissions following the act and a court case launched by Fortnite creator Epic Games. Changing laws to bring more competition to platforms would benefit Australian consumers, Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said, although he warned many users were unlikely to change their iPhone settings or install unapproved software. "The European experience has shown that most people keep the default settings even as the platform does open up," he said. "Apple users tend to value the security and privacy of the platform." Changes proposed in the Digital Competition Regime included preventing tech companies from prioritising their products, removing payment restrictions, and mandating timely app approval processes.
