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Two weeks until Sky Muster data increase

Guest Author, October 19, 2017

IT’S just two weeks until Sky Muster satellite users can receive 50 percent more peak data and double their current off-peak data.

Minister for Regional Communications Fiona Nash said the change was a direct response to calls from people in rural and remote Australia for the the Government to break the data drought.

“Well the rain is about to start. I asked NBN to find a way and they have,” Senator Nash said in a media statement issued on Wednesday.

“From early October, NBN will allow Sky Muster retailers to sell far more data to users – 50 per cent more data at peak times and double the data at off peak times. Even better, I met with Sky Muster retailers recently and they agreed to pass the extra data on at almost no extra cost.

“This means we’d expect to see users receive 60 gigabytes of peak data a month for roughly $60, and $100 gigabytes of peak data a month for roughly $120. These plans also come with additional off-peak data. When you consider Sky Muster delivers broadband everywhere – from the outback to mountains and remote islands – it’s pretty amazing. Of course, each Sky Muster connection is already subsidised thousands of dollars by the city profits of the NBN.

“I encourage Sky Muster users to speak to their retailers to get the best Sky Muster can offer. I also remind rural and remote Australians that NBN and I are still working hard to deliver them even more.

“Sky Muster outages were down 90 this April compared to last September, but there’s always more to do. We won’t stop working on this.”

An extra 15GB of peak data would allow a student to download an additional 30 more hours of university lectures per month and spend an extra hour a day surfing the web. For streaming video content from providers like Netflix, customers could typically stream an extra 40 hours a month of standard definition content.

“Those who already have signed up should talk to their service provider for information on increasing the data on their plans. Those who aren’t on a contract can contact their preferred provider to see the plans and pricing available to them.”

The Sky Muster service delivers high-speed broadband to 3 per cent of Australians living in regional and remote Australia through two next-generation satellites – Sky Muster and Sky Muster 2. These areas would never get broadband any other way – including those in mountains, hills, small towns, in deserts and on islands.

NBN Sky Muster delivers speeds of up to 25 megabits a second. However as NBN is a wholesaler, not a retailer, retailers choose how they structure and price their plans and how much bandwidth they provide.

The satellites orbit 36,000 kilometres above the Earth and have 101 spot beams to cover every inch of Australia’s eight million square kilometres of land mass and external territories – Norfolk, Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

SOURCE: Minister for Regional Communications. Visit www.nbnco.com.au for more information on the Sky Muster service.

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