Starlink powers national coverage landmark in New Zealand
Starlink has been confirmed as the provider of a landmark coverage milestone in collaboration with New Zealand’s One NZ.
The telecoms provider claims it is the first company in the world to operate a national satellite text message service via Starlink.
SpaceX’s satellite-to-cell offering has several partners across the globe, including T-Mobile in the U.S. and others in Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, and Switzerland.
The breakthrough in coverage is notable but it has to be pointed out that there are limitations to the service. SMS contacts can be sent and received within three minutes, but One NZ has warned the timeframe could increase to “10 minutes or longer” during the initial stages of the rollout.
Another early issue is that only four phone models are supported at present. They are the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and OPPO Find X8 Pro.
Further support is expected to be introduced in 2025 as the service evolves.
Voice calls and data to follow, says One NZ
Joe Goddard, One NZ’s Commercial Director said, “We continue to test the capabilities of One NZ Satellite TXT, and this is an initial service that will get better. For example, text messages will take longer to send but will get quicker over time.”
“We’re beginning with a small number of phones as part of the staggered rollout of the technology, and critically, from today customers can send and receive text messages only, but in the future, we expect voice calling and data to also be available, ” he added.
The One NZ satellite text service will be free of charge to customers on existing pay-monthly plans, while the company has not yet indicated if there will be additional specific charges for new customers or those on other tariffs to avail of the satellite-to-phone connection.
In September, Starlink hit the four million customers mark, with a million gained since the end of May alone.
Image credit: Via Midjourney
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