Vodafone has reached an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite business to provide mobile coverage of the whole country for its customers via Starlink.
The telco announced the landmark deal on Monday morning to coincide with its name change from Vodafone to One NZ.
One NZ’s mobile service is currently delivered though cellphone towers, but the Starlink agreement will mean customers will be able to use their smartphones to connect via satellite when they are in areas that don’t have cellular coverage.
Chief executive Jason Paris said One NZ’s mobile network covered 98% of the places where people “lived and worked”, but only just over half of the country’s geographical land mass.
When the new service was turned on late next year, there would be coverage across the country “whether you’re out on your boat, climbing a mountain, fixing a remote road or on your farm”, he said.
He said it would save lives.
Spokesperson Nicky Preston said the satellite service would initially only allow text messages, including multimedia (MMS) texts, but would later be expanded to also support voice calls and mobile broadband.
Paris said the text service would be available to One NZ customers but once the voice service was available it would be open to all so people could make a 111 call no matter which company they were with.
One NZ has yet to decide how it will price and market the service, but customers should not need new smartphones or any extra equipment to make use of it. Paris said a smartphone would be required, though.
The deal mirrors a similar arrangement that United States’ telco T-Mobile agreed with SpaceX in August.
T-Mobile has said its “vision” is for satellite connectivity to be included for free in its most popular plans.
Paris said One NZ’s initiative would do away with the mobile communication issues experienced in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The cyclone temporarily knocked out mobile connectivity to swathes of the country in February, but satellite coverage was not impacted.
Preston said One NZ would allow any mobile users, including Spark and 2degrees customers, to roam on its Starlink service and send emergency messages in the event of a disaster similar to the cyclone.
The three mobile network providers already have a mutual arrangement to enable each others’ customers to contact emergency services over their cellular networks in situations where one of those is out of action.
Police Minister Ginny Andersen is expected to make a statement on Monday welcoming the Starlink development, which is not receiving public funding.
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said its technology would save people’s lives and should be available to all.
Paris said that as well as improving public safety, 100% mobile coverage could revolutionise business in industries such as agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, tourism, forestry, transport and logistics.
One NZ would not disclose how much the arrangement will cost the company, saying the terms were confidential and commercially sensitive.
It will require SpaceX to launch new satellites to serve the region.
One NZ would also not say whether its agreement with SpaceX contained any exclusivity terms that might restrict Spark or 2degrees from entering into a similar agreement with the US firm.
But Preston said “people will need to be with One New Zealand to get the full benefit of this service”.
Paris said people using the satellite connection might notice more of a delay in sending a text message. “That’s a small price to pay for 100% mobile coverage if you’re sending a message saying the sea is getting choppy and you're coming back or there is a bridge out – a 60-second delay is not a big deal. But it’s not a service for streaming Netflix.”
2degrees announced on Monday that it would trial technology that enabled customers to connect via satellite.
Chief executive Mark Callander said it planned a trial with US satellite company Lynk.
“New Zealand is well served by world-class mobile technology, but we’re not a country contained to urban living – we’re a country of outdoor explorers, trampers, farmers and boaties,” Callander said.
“Like other mobile providers around the world, 2degrees is exploring how best to enable connectivity for our customers when they’re beyond traditional coverage.”
Callander said it would begin “initial trials” shortly and, over time, expected 2degrees customers would be able to send text messages and “ultimately get voice calls and basic data services from anywhere in New Zealand”.
One NZ announced its deal to coincide with its name change from Vodafone.
One NZ has not had an ownership link with Britain’s Vodafone Group since it was bought out by NZX-listed Infratil and Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management for $3.4 billion in 2019.
It had up to Monday continued to use the Vodafone brand, but it is now dropping that in a rebrand that is understood will save it between $20 million and $30m a year in licensing fees.
Paris said the change had gone well. “My biggest worry was all the people who had been working for Vodafone for 20 years. It wasn’t an issue with customers.”
Source: Vodafone has reached an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite business to provide mobile coverage of the whole country for its customers via Starlink.