In regional and remote Australia more people are turning to Elon Musk’s Starlink to stay connected to the internet.<\/p>\n
The company run by the world’s richest man, \u2014 who is now a key part of the second Trump administration \u2014 has 7,000 satellites in orbit and eventually plans to have up to 12,000 to cover the globe.<\/p>\n
In Australia there are currently believed to be around 200,000 Starlink connections, according to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.<\/p>\n
And while she isn’t too concerned about Mr Musk’s network seriously competing with the NBN, some don’t like the notion of relying on a product run by the Tesla, SpaceX and X owner.<\/p>\n
In the Ukraine-Russia war, where Starlink is believed to be used by both sides, Mr Musk has made decisions about when the system is activated or switched off and critics worry Australia could also be vulnerable to his whims.<\/p>\n
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The Starlink network has been used by both sides in the Ukraine-Russia war.\u00a0 (Reuters: Inna Varenytsia)<\/p>\n
“When parts of the market become dependent on one person, and when that person is as petulant and as erratic as Elon Musk, then you’re setting yourself up to fail,” Professor Andrew Dodd from the Centre for Advancing Journalism, told 7.30.<\/p>\n
“That is the risk [and there is a real chance that Australia could become reliant on Starlink and on its relationship with Elon Musk, and it’s really on the government to ensure that, that doesn’t happen.”<\/p>\n
In the two-and-a-half years since Mr Musk bought X (formerly Twitter), he has used the platform to amplify his political views.<\/p>\n
In January he told Germany’s far-right AfD political party to look beyond the Nazi legacy of WWII.<\/a><\/p>\n However Ms Rowland told 7.30 that the government has no reservations about Mr Musk’s control of the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is not concerned about competition for the NBN. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n “We deal with Starlink as a professional organisation,” Ms Rowland said.<\/p>\n “This is a regulated market in Australia. It is subject to a wide variety of legislative and other regulatory obligations. We are not concerned.”<\/p>\n ‘No comparison’ to government-owned NBN<\/p>\n With its compact size, the portability of the Starlink kit is particularly appealing to caravanning holiday-makers across Australia.<\/p>\n These ground kits are then connected to satellites in low-Earth orbit, about 550 kilometres above the Earth \u2014 compared with the NBN’s Skymuster service which uses two satellites in geostationary orbit, about 35,000 kilometres above the equator.<\/p>\n A Starlink kit that is set-up in the Kimberley region.\u00a0 (\u00a0Supplied: Stewart Carragher)<\/p>\n Because Starlink’s satellites are much lower, they’re easier to connect to, however it takes thousands of them to provide internet coverage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms Rowland says the competition between Low Earth Orbit, or LEOSat technology, and the NBN’s satellite is a good thing.<\/p>\n “We welcome the entry of LEOSat technology. It’s exciting,” Ms Rowland told 7.30. \u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s connecting not only parts of remote Australia in particular that have never been connected before but it’s ensuring that there are some capabilities that had never even been considered before.” A map showing the location of Starlink satellites in orbit around the Earth. (Supplied: Starlink Satellite and Coverage Map)<\/p>\n Ms Rowland does not believe Starlink is or will be a threat to the NBN.<\/p>\n “NBN has around 9 million connections. We’re aware that Starlink has in the vicinity of around 200,000 and we know that between fibre and satellite technology, there is no comparison,” she said.<\/p>\n The federal government has announced a $3 billion plan to upgrade the NBN and provide an additional 622,000 new fibre connections, with more than half being in regional and rural areas.<\/a><\/p>\n Telecommunications consultant Paul Budde believes that may not be enough to stem the momentum of people choosing Starlink over the NBN, especially in regional areas.<\/p>\n “The people are voting with their feet and are just going to into Starlink,” he said.<\/p>\n “If you’ve got fixed wireless in the outer edges of town \u2026 that service is not performing if you compare that with what Starlink can offer,” Mr Budde said.<\/p>\n “So, there’s quite a significant part of the country where Starlink is significantly better than the NBN.”<\/p>\n That is something beekeeper Ben Moore has noticed when he goes to isolated locations for his job, where he says Starlink has made a “massive difference”.<\/p>\n Ben Moore says the Starlink network has made a “massive difference” to his job.\u00a0 (ABC News: Norman Hermant)<\/p>\n He pays $80 per month for a basic service and uses a small Starlink mini receiver that costs about $550.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I can be up and running within minutes,” Mr Moore said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s giving me the powers to communicate from areas where I usually don’t have any reception.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Watch 7.30<\/a>, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview<\/a> and ABC TV<\/p>\n Contact 7.30<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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