NBN Co, the company overseeing the construction of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN), has struck a deal with Speedcast International Limited with a view to delivering wholesale business and enterprise satellite services to regional and remote Australia. Announcing the partnership, NBN Co said it had enlisted Speedcast’s wholly owned subsidiary, Speedcast Managed Services, to develop wholesale business-grade satellite broadband services using its Sky Muster satellite platform under a ten-year contract valued at AUD184 million (USD146 million). The deal will reportedly involve the design, build and management of the network and service operation of the new platform.
NBN Co’s two Sky Muster satellites – which launched in October 2015 and October 2016, respectively – have been designed to provide access to 240,000 active services in regional and remote Australia. The company noted that there are currently around 84,000 active customers using its satellite-based services, with around 1,000 new accesses being added each month. According to NBN Co, the provision of wholesale business-grade services over its satellites will be complementary to its existing retail offering, and its enterprise-level services are expected to be available by early 2019.
