Vocus Satellite – Starlink connects Sydney's Northern Beaches

Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council has signed on as a customer for Vocus’s new Satellite – Starlink service to initially connect 37 community sites, making it the first council and government agency in NSW to use the new service. The speed and coverage of the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology have allowed the council to use the service as part of its day-to-day active connectivity for community sites.

Northern Beaches Council is one of Australia’s largest councils by population, spanning a vast terrain — from Manly to Palm Beach — and encompassing a number of national parks and reserves. Some community facilities including childcare centres and surf lifesaving clubs are in areas of poor mobile connectivity and where fixed line infrastructure can be compromised by extreme weather events. Council childcare centres, for instance, need to have very good communication capability to ensure staff can communicate well with parents. Northern Beaches Council CEO Ray Brownlee said the council needed business-grade support and, after requesting quotes from various suppliers, chose Vocus Satellite – Starlink to deliver its innovative service.

“Low Earth orbit satellite technology provides us with the ability to have high-performance coverage at our sites, and not just as passive backups, but as active network connections,” Brownlee said.

“Satellite broadband is a real game changer — it doesn’t require the traditional infrastructure of cables and fibre optics, which can be disrupted during extreme weather events and emergencies.

“That’s where the low Earth orbit satellite connections complement our fixed line connections — we can have two live redundant internet connections and if one goes down, the other will keep working.”

Andrew Wildblood, Vocus Chief Executive, Enterprise & Government, said it was fantastic to see the immediate benefits Vocus’s LEO satellite services were delivering the council and local people.

“I know the Northern Beaches area very well, and the great work the council does,” Wildblood said. “What makes this work so good is it provides brilliant active connectivity that delivers immediate benefits to the organisation and the community. It’s a great win-win.”

Image courtesy of Northern Beaches Council.