- NBN CO has announced an association with Amazon Project Kuiper
- Launch in mid -2026, promises to bring faster satellite Internet to rural Australia
- Initially it will be launched in Tasmania before moving north through the country
As we increasingly advance the imminent NBN speed updates on the fixed line network, NBN CO has announced today (August 5) an association with the Project Kuiper Satellite Internet service of Amazon, to improve connectivity for Australians in rural, regional and remote areas.
This would be an update to the current Sky Muster service offered by NBN CO for rural and regional Australia that currently has about 307,000 stores within its geostationary footprint.
The satellites currently in use are approaching their period of end of life, although NBN Ca says that there is a lot of time to guarantee a transition without problems for their Sky Muster customers.
Keep reading for more information.
What is Project Kuiper?
Amazon began research and development of the Kuiper project about seven years ago, in 2018. The first two prototype satellites were launched in October 2023, and a large -scale deployment began in April 2025 with 27 production satellites. The Project Kuiper Internet service will eventually see approximately 3,200 low -earth orbit satellites (Leo) deployed at a height of around 600 km.
NBN CO has said that the first signs show a great promise and has been allocated in mid -2016, since when satellite internet plans (also known as Sky Muster) will be available to customers, starting with Tasmania.
It is expected that, after a launch in the southern areas of the country, an additional launch will be held that moves north for a period of weeks or months.
Who can get the Kuiper project?
The Satellite Project Kuiper Internet service will be available for all current Sky Muster and Sky Muster Plus, together with any person in the current geostationary satellite footprint, approximately 300,000 homes, all will finally migrate to the new service, or will be offered the opportunity to register.
It will not be an immediate change, since NBN on says that its two Sky Muster satellites will remain in operation until “approximately 2032” to help the transition to be as soft as possible.
After today’s announcement, NBN CO will begin more conversations with the Kuiper project and retail services suppliers (RSP) to determine the prices and speeds that customers can expect.
How fast is Project Kuiper?
While exact speeds have not yet been determined, NBN CO says that customers served by satellite internet can expect “broad quality band of the city.” Sky Muster Services is currently a maximum of 100 Mbps, and Project Kuiper states that your service can achieve download speeds up to 400 Mbps for residential customers, or up to 1 Gbps for business clients.
Anything else?
From the association, the CEO of NBN, Ellie Sweeney, said: “The Leo satellite broadband, supplied by NBN co and promoted by the Kuiper project of Amazon, will be a great advance for customers in parts of regional, rural and remote Australia.
“The Australians deserve to have access to a fast and effective broadband, regardless of whether they live in an important city, on the outskirts of a rural city or miles of their nearest neighbor … by updating the next -generation leo satellite broadband leo promoted by the Kuiper project, we are working to carry the best available technology to the absent trees in the shrub.”
