How Satellite-to-Mobile Messaging Technology Helps Indonesia and Australia Beat Topographical Odds

SYDNEY/JAKARTA, Aug. 20, 2025 — With the advent of SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell, there has been no less than a revolution in satellite to mobile technology and latest among the regions to embrace it includes Indonesia and Australia.

Having expanded its application in the Asian market, Starlink recently announced the launch of its satellite internet service in Indonesia, a move that is expected to improve the situation in the south-east Asian nation, where building a basic broadband network due to its island-like terrain is difficult and the country mostly relies on telecom operators to build wireless base stations for internet access.

Indonesia becomes the third country in Southeast Asia to receive Starlink satellite internet services after Malaysia and the Philippines. Cellular service provider KDDI has also launched Starlink in Asia, including Japan and announced cooperation with Starlink, but due to policy issues it is unable to provide service in the Taiwan market.

In January this year, Telstra announced a new collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink to bring Satellite-to-Mobile (direct-to-handset) text messaging to its customers in Australia.

Almost seven months later, Australia recently got its first satellite to mobile text messaging product as cellular service provider Telstra’s collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell paved way for eligible Telstra customers to enjoy an additional layer of connectivity to share text messages to friends or family when outside the coverage of our mobile network.

Why is Satellite-to-Mobile a Boon for Indonesia?

While rest of south-east Asia enjoys uninterrupted mobile internet connectivity, access to this service in Indonesia is possible through base stations installed by domestic telecom operators.

The multi-island terrain in Indonesia makes mobile signal reception difficult for some remote islands and more taxing to transmit large amounts of data through wired broadband networks.

Limited mobile internet connectivity has an adverse impact on development of education and medical applications in Indonesia.

Starlink will be used to improve the country's medical operations and boost medical resources in remote areas through a satellite network that is not restricted by terrain, said Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin. The minister stated that Indonesia will also use this service to promote more extensive digital education.

Satellite-to-Mobile Features in Oz You Should Know

SMS Messages: The Telstra’s service, subscribers will now have the option to send SMS messages via Starlink’s Direct to Cell network to standard Australian and international numbers when its mobile network is unavailable and the device is outdoors with a direct line of site to the sky.

In a blog post, Telstra consumer executive Tom Beach wrote that it is an intermittent service, with message sending and receiving speed subject to location, device and the availability of Starlink Direct to Cell satellites.

The delivery time for messages could vary from receiving instant messaging or may experience a slight delay before one receives a text message.

Service Expansion Plans: At the time of its launch, the service was limited to text messaging only and requires a Telstra Upfront Mobile plan or equivalent business plan, as well as a device from the Samsung Galaxy S25 series. For eligible users, satellite messaging will be added to their core plan inclusions at no additional cost.

The service is expected to be extended beyond text messaging and would include data and calls in days to come, wrote Tom Beach. Media reports suggest that compatibility for iPhone devices is also on the cards.

Geographies Covered: Coverage for satellite texting includes mainland Australia and Tasmania but excludes the Australian Radio Quiet Zone in Western Australia and remote offshore territories and islands of Australia. Users also cannot text Australian emergency responders directly via the service as well. “Telstra Satellite Messaging will mostly benefit people who live or travel outside mobile networks in regional and remote parts of the country, for the farmer in the back paddock who wants to check on when their family member will be getting back from town; for the outdoor enthusiast in the middle of a hike checking in with family or letting them know they’ll be late home; or for the road trippers experiencing a flat tyre and needing to reach out for help,” Beach wrote.

Australia recently got its first satellite-to-mobile text messaging product as cellular service provider Telstra collaborated with SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell.

Inputs from Saqib Malik

Editing by David Ryder