Australia Post and Telstra have partnered to deliver satellite-based internet to 270 post offices in our country's most far-flung places, making Australia Post the first major organisation to adopt Telstra Starlink Enterprise Internet on a national level.
Telstra's Starlink Enterprise Internet leverages Starlink's low-Earth orbit satellites to deliver a faster connection than traditional geostationary satellites, underpinning business operations and services in more remote locations prone to inconsistent coverage or slow speeds.
With many rural and remote customers travelling longer distances to reach services, the rollout has translated to all-important confidence their visit won't coincide with a disruption to key post office services such as bill payment, banking and postage.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Retail, Brand and Marketing Josh Bannister said the targeted upgrade was supporting post offices to provide essential services for rural and remote communities.
"Australia Post has the largest nationwide retail network with more than 4,000 post offices located in every corner of the country. This upgrade is a game-changer for remote locations and just one way we are investing in programs and technology that benefits customers no matter where they live," Mr Bannister said.
Telstra has worked closely with Australia Post to install and provide expert support to participating post offices, travelling to locations across all states and territories, from Cunnamulla in Queensland to Cocos Island in Western Australia and Oodnadatta in South Australia.
With the high speeds provided by Telstra's Starlink Enterprise Internet, the 270 rural or remote outlets connected are now recording four to 22 times faster speeds than before, allowing access to broader technology updates being rolled out nationally across Australia Post's network.
Peggy Renders, Telstra's Chief Customer Officer for Enterprise, said it was an absolute privilege to bring reliable connectivity to businesses such as Australia Post who play such a critical role serving regional and remote communities.
"It was so important that we teamed-up with Australia Post and we were hands-on from the start finding a technology-based solution for regional and remote Australians. We are so proud to deliver new technology types that extend and complement the needs of each Post Office - especially those in the most remote parts of our country.
Just like Australia Post, building connection is our lifeblood and I'm thrilled that through this partnership we can continue to connect more Australians in more ways," said Ms Renders.
For Australia Post outlets around the country, this has been a significant logistical achievement. For Cape Barren, an island off the north coast of Tasmania, two planes, a boat, a car and a truck were needed to transport a Starlink satellite kit. Cape Barren's Starlink kit now sits on the post office's rooftop, linking to Starlink satellites orbiting in space.
Telstra Starlink Internet Plans were first launched in late 2023. Coupled with Telstra's mobile network failover where possible for additional contingency, the high-bandwidth Enterprise Plans provide peace of mind that business can continue if there's ever an interruption to the satellite connectivity.
Australia Post will continue to monitor its network following the initial phase of deployment.
