NBN Co plans to trial 100 Mbps satellite services

NBN Co has revealed plans to trial Sky Muster Plus satellite plans offering wholesale speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

The company will commence a trial next month with participating retailers, and it plans to run the trial until May. If successful, the enhanced Sky Muster Plus plan will be introduced later this year.

The NBN Co Chief Development Officer for Regional and Remote, Gavin Williams, said the goal of the trial is to determine whether Sky Muster satellites are capable of supporting 100 Mbps plans once the proportion of rural customers relying on the service is reduced.

“As NBN upgrades the fixed wireless network, it enables us to offer customers on the satellite network the ability to migrate to the fixed wireless network. This will free up capacity for satellite customers — allowing for the trial,” he said.

“The NBN Sky Muster satellite service is a vital part of the NBN network and connects even remote parts of our country. The NBN Sky Muster satellite service is Australian-owned and secure.

“Our satellite equipment is professionally installed, and we do not charge internet service providers for a standard installation or the standard satellite equipment. NBN Co also delivers customer support through on-ground Australian technical support teams.”

NBN Co launched Sky Muster Plus services in 2019 and has since upgraded the plan to offer unmetered access to all traffic apart from video streaming and VPN traffic between 4 pm and 12 am. The service uses NBN Co’s two Sky Muster satellites, which launched in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

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