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Vocus, an Australian telecommunications company, has announced that all levels of government in Australia are adopting low earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based internet services for various use cases. Vocus CEO for enterprise and government, Andrew Wildblood, revealed that the company was amazed by the interest shown by the government in LEOsat technology.

Vocus is initially offering satellite services through Starlink and has also partnered with OneWeb for when its network becomes operational. Wildblood mentioned that federal, state, and local governments have already begun embracing LEOs. Some early users include the Northern Beaches Council in Sydney, which is using Starlink to connect 37 sites, as well as the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Community Enterprise Queensland.

LEOs have also found applications in the Northern Territory, connecting regional councils in remote indigenous communities, remote ranger stations operated by the Northern Land Council, and remote healthcare service providers like the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.

Furthermore, trialists and users of LEOsat networks include state police and emergency services operators. Concerns about sovereignty have been addressed by Wildblood, emphasizing that traffic needs to be routed locally through terrestrial infrastructure despite utilizing international LEO networks. Vocus has already deployed 16 LEO ground stations on its fiber backbone, more than any other operator in Australia. This is expected to increase in density as demand for LEOsat technology grows.

Wildblood believes that Australia will greatly benefit from the advancements in LEOsat technology. It provides high-speed broadband services to the most remote locations domestically and internationally, and government customers are only just beginning to explore its potential.

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