Vocus, is a telecommunications company in Australia that specializes in providing fibre-optic cable internet and other network solutions for enterprise and government customers. On November 30th, Vocus announced it signed an agreement with SpaceX to distribute Starlink satellite internet service to Australian enterprise and civil government customers.
SpaceX operates a constellation of around 3,200 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit that beam data directly to customer user terminals on the ground. The company already provides internet to millions globally, including mobile service in remote regions with maritime coverage. SpaceX offers Starlink for residential use and ‘Starlink Business’ for professional customers with high-bandwidth needs. Vocus now offers Australian enterprise and government customers ‘Vocus Satellite –Starlink’, which is the ‘Starlink Business’ package combined with their expertise. “Starlink Business provides a high gain antenna, additional throughput allocation, and extreme weather performance, helping ensure high bandwidth and low latency for critical operations 24/7,” shared Vocus in a press release.
“As Vocus and its customers know, high-speed, low-latency internet is critical for businesses, and Starlink allows enterprises to manage their remote operations more efficiently,” said SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Sales Jonathan Hofeller. “We look forward to providing Vocus’ customers with Starlink’s powerful and reliable connectivity solution.”
“Starlink is innovation at its best, with some of the smartest minds in the industry and a phenomenal satellite broadband product. Vocus is excited to be one of the first telcos [telecommunication company] in the world to work with Starlink to bring this to customers,” said Vocus Chief Executive, Enterprise & Government, Andrew Wildblood. “Enterprise and government customers need a technical and service experience that is above-and-beyond – people who know how to work with large companies, can project manage installations, provide tailored services and consistently deliver brilliantly responsive assurance – and that’s Vocus’ speciality. [...] Enterprise and government customers will experience satellite service delivery like never before with Vocus,” they stated.
“New technologies that challenge the status quo – like LEO satellite – need like-minded organizations to deliver full value,” said Ashley Neale, Vocus’ Development Manager for Space & Satellite, “Customers on Vocus’ fibre network running mission-critical operations at their sites will now have another high performance, attractively priced option for reach and redundancy, providing extra assurance for business continuity, with personalized service built on industry best practice.”
The Vocus partnership announcement comes after SpaceX offered a 50% discount for 'Starlink Residential' users living in Australia early last month. The company sent emails to potential customers stating that the Starlink Kit now costs $450 AUD, down nearly half from its original price of $924 AUD. –"SpaceX's Starlink has an offer for Australia only - Over 50% off your Kit until New Years Eve!" wrote the company via email. "Redeem today and connect to high-speed internet within a week. Available for fixed service at your home, or on-the-go for your caravan across Australia!" The monthly Starlink subscription for Australia costs $139 AUD. SpaceX also displayed an advertisement at the Melbourne, Australia, airport in November to promote the hardware discount.
Featured Image Source: SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
