Australia could be close to catching up with the USA with Telstra testing satellite to smartphone communication.
In the USA smartphones brands such as Apple and Samsung have been delivering satellite to smartphone technology via the Musk owned Space X network.
Now there is talk Australians may have access to direct-to-mobile phone satellites within two years, potentially marking the end of the road for expensive, patchy and limited satellite phones, which have to connect to satellites tens of thousands of kilometres from Earth.
US company T-Mobile is now accepting customers into a free beta program for Starlink’s mobile service, but it appears to be thus far limited to a trio of Samsung handsets.
Meanwhile, US regulators gave SpaceX approval two months ago to supply text messaging, phone calls and internet access directly to mobile phones.
In Australia it is possible to use a home phone, business phone or Cloud phone system through a Starlink based internet connection.

Starlink satellite to mobile direct.
For example, the company TelTel says on its website: “Simply use our VoIP phone, phone adaptor or even your mobile phone connected via cable or WIFI to your modem and make and receive phone calls …”
But companies including SpaceX and Amazon are tipping vast resources into swamping the sky with Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites capable of connecting phones and satellites directly.
On January 9, 2025, Telstra announced it was collaborating with Starlink to bring satellite-to-mobile texting to customers in Australia.
“This will enable us to provide better coverage from coast to coast, especially for those in regional and remote areas.”
The collaboration will initially focus on testing and refining the capability for Australian conditions, ahead of a commercial launch.
“Australia’s landmass is vast and there will always be large areas where mobile and fixed networks do not reach, and this is where satellite technology will play a complementary role to our existing networks,” Telstra said.
“As satellite technology continues to evolve to support voice, data and IoT we will explore opportunities for the commercial launch of those new services.”

Analysys Mason chart.
Earlier this month ChannelNews reported on Amazon’s call out for Australian workers to help build a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites to compete with Starlink.
Luke Coleman, Chief Executive of Communications Alliance, told The Australian Financial Review: “The breakthrough technology here is that the Starlink satellites are using that terrestrial spectrum that the operators already have to send messages to your existing phone.
“There’s a bit of a technology war going on right now between the satellite service spectrum, which needs a dedicated chip in your smartphone, versus the direct-to-cell services that any off-the-shelf standard smartphone can use, using your terrestrial spectrum.”
US consulting firm Analysys Mason said in a 2023 report that the number of satellite direct-to-device users worldwide would grow from zero in 2021 to more than 350 million by 2031.
“The reach of terrestrial coverage is, contrary to what one would believe, surprisingly limited. For example, in the USA, over 94 percent of the population lives in areas with at least three providers of 4G LTE coverage, but this accounts for just 40 percent of the territory.
“There is vast economic and social value to be materialised in the uncovered areas. For example, 37 percent of road miles remain outside the covered areas with the consequent opportunities in connected vehicles, asset tracking or safety services to be tapped.
“One could build similar analysis for verticals such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, smart grids or pipelines.”
Analysys Mason, which is tipping you’ll be able to make calls directly via satellite in 2027-28, said “satellite direct-to-device solutions will not be able to match terrestrial performance or even traditional satellite links. The focus for these services is coverage, not throughput density”.
It said limitations in signal power will cap the speed of the link, “but low data-rates are fine for many use cases such as voice, messaging or IoT. In this sense, satellites will not be a substitute for terrestrial solutions, but these constellations can extend Mobile Network Operators’ network infrastructure, offering ubiquitous coverage and unlocking new growth drivers”.