More low-orbit satellites above Gippsland to tackle mobile black spots

The technology will initially provide voice, text and data services in times of crisis.

Jacob Wallace
April 14, 2026

Years of dropped calls and communications blackouts in rural South Gippsland may be one step closer to a fix, after the federal government made a commitment to rolling out low-orbit satellite technology.

What happened: South Gippsland Mayor, Nathan Hersey, told the Monitor the federal Minister for Communications, Anika Wells, had committed in March to rolling out low-orbit satellite technology across the region.

“Gippsland's got an exceptionally high number of mobile phone black spots," Hersey said. “That's largely due to the dispersed population and also the topography.”

The new technology will be delivered by NBN Co - a government-owned company responsible for building, upgrading and operating the National Broadband Network.

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How does the tech work? The network of low-orbit satellites rotate around the planet at a much lower altitude than regular satellites.

This leads to faster connection speeds and better coverage because the satellites are physically closer to the receiver.

Last year, NBN Co announced it has partnered with Amazon’s low-orbit technology and planned to begin rolling out the service from the middle of 2026.

Hersey said the service will initially provide voice, text and data services in times of crisis or emergency situations, before being rolled out to support general communications.

Starlink comparison: This will become a direct competitor with Tesla’s low-orbit satellite network, Starlink, which launched in Australia in 2021.

Starlink’s roaming service has a $599 upfront hardware charge and costs $80 per month for 100GB of data, or $195 per month for unlimited data.

The NBN Co satellites will have no upfront hardware cost and it’s hoped the new technology will bring more competitive prices to regional customers.

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Minimum standards: Hersey said South Gippsland Shire and advocacy group One Gippsland have been pushing for the federal government to legislate minimum call and text service standards.

“This will mean telcos will be required to provide voice and text coverage, basically all over Australia.”