First NBN satellite to launch 1 October
- 13 August, 2015 12:14
An artist's impression of the Sky Muster satellite.
broadband to remote areas of Australia.
The satellites will deliver peak speeds of up to 25 megabits per second to rural and regional areas of Australia. Up to 200,000 homes and businesses will be covered.
The first satellite, Sky Muster, is being launched from French Guiana on 1 October.
The second satellite will be launched in 2016.
NBN managing space systems architect, Julia Dickinson, said Sky Muster will play a crucial role in levelling the playing field between city and bush.
“Many rural and remote Australians do not have access to a quality broadband service and continue to experience dial-up level speeds,” she said in a statement.
“Sky Muster will help deliver world-class broadband services to the bush – it will offer better opportunities for distance education online through use of video-conferencing as well as improved access for specialist telehealth applications in the home.”
A $620 million contract for the satellite project was announced in 2012.
Last year, communications minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that NBN would bump capacity on the current Interim Satellite Service due to demand.
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