Optus Satellite to Begin Testing and Trials On Telesat’s Recently Launched Phase 1 Low Earth Orbit (Leo) Satellite

March 8, 2018

Optus Satellite and Telesat announced they will be collaborating in live, over-the-air trials on Telesat’s recently launched low earth orbit (LEO) satellite.  

Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite was launched in January 2018 and is now undergoing commissioning and orbit-raising. Telesat’s LEO constellation, once fully deployed, is designed to deliver transformative, low latency, fiber-like broadband for commercial and government customers throughout the world, including in Australia and New Zealand. The initial constellation will consist of approximately 120 state-of-the-art satellites by 2021 providing full global coverage and Telesat is evaluating options to expand its system beyond this initial configuration. Telesat is uniquely positioned to deliver the world’s most advanced and capable LEO constellation given the company’s deep technical expertise, strong track record of innovation, senior spectrum rights, and industry-leading customer service and support.   

Phase 1 testing will enable Optus to experience the advantages of Telesat’s system – including ultra-low latency and high speeds – and assess the role Telesat LEO can play in Optus’ next-generation satellite networks. Optus and Telesat will work together, using Telesat equipment and existing Optus infrastructure, to perform the testing at the Optus satellite teleport in Belrose, NSW, and at other locations in Australia. Optus and Telesat will also explore a longer-term joint services and market development plan, specific to Telesat’s LEO initiative, for Optus’ customer segments and regions of interest. Both parties look to leverage their combined commercial and technical capabilities to transform the communications experience. 

“Satellite has long played a key role in meeting the important networking requirements of our enterprise and government customers across Australia and New Zealand,” said Paul Sheridan, Vice President, Optus Satellite. “As an industry leader, Optus is always looking to leverage the most advanced technology to meet the mission critical needs of our customers, including improved and flexible geographic coverage, faster satellite data rates, reduced signal latency, and overall best economic value and user experience. Our evaluation of Telesat’s LEO design gives us confidence their system is capable of delivering these improvements and has the potential to become a core component in Optus’ future infrastructure. We are looking forward to starting trials on Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite and demonstrating to our customers the exciting future of satellite delivered services.”  

“Optus Satellite has a long track record of innovation and outstanding customer service and we are delighted to be teaming with them to demonstrate the game changing benefits of our next generation LEO constellation for users in Australia and New Zealand,” said Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat. “Telesat’s LEO system is designed to deliver low latency, high speed broadband with the ability to instantly allocate bandwidth where it’s most needed. We are excited to be collaborating with Optus on this demonstration and we look forward to continuing to cooperate as we advance the development of Telesat’s global LEO system.”