The nbn® Sky Muster long-term satellite service (LTSS) has become a game-changer for Internet-deprived Australians who live in outback areas.
It’s now available through official nbn® service providers, such as Activ8me. With impressive and reliable download speeds of up to 25 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps, Sky Muster has earned overwhelming positive feedback from customers.
Here are some awesome facts about the nbn® Sky Muster Internet:
One of the Largest in the World
Gavin Williams, ‎‎nbn® Executive General Manager for New Developments, Wireless and Satellite describes it as one of the largest communications satellites in the world. The satellite weighs 6,400 kg, is 26 metres long, 12 metres wide, and 9 metres tall.
The LTSS project is designed to provide ultra fast Internet broadband connection to more than 200,000  homes and businesses located in regional and remote Australia, including offshore territories.
Hovers above Australia
Sky Muster hovers at 36,000 kilometres above Australia in a geostationary orbit and follows the Earth’s rotation, delivering consistent broadband service. The satellite is located 140 degrees east longitude. The second satellite, to be launched later this year, will be positioned at 145 degrees. The earlier IPSTAR satellite that provides interim satellite service to rural Australia is situated at 120 degrees east.
16-year Life Expectancy  
The Sky Muster satellite has an estimated life span of about 16 years, when it will runs out of fuel. After its fuel exhaustion, it will continue to remain in orbit over Australia through gentle thrusts. It doesn’t need much fuel since in space there is no resistance. It uses the high-power variant of the LS-1300 satellite bus with two five-panel solar arrays that generate 16.4kW of power that controls the charge of the satellite’s batteries.
101 Spot Beams
The Sky Muster’s communications payload is composed of 202 electromagnetic Ka-Band transponders that create high throughput 101 communication spot beams.
This number of beams enables the satellite to have a vast coverage across Australia and it’s external territories. Each customer has an allocated spot – if one spot beam becomes congested, the nbn® can seamlessly switch users to another beam.
Tunes up Like a Radio
During installation, a tuner called Transmit and Receive Integrated Assembly (TRIA) is attached to the satellite dish on a customer’s roof. It helps make the installation easy by guiding the installer (through a series of beeps) on where to position the dish properly in order to receive the strongest available signal from the satellite.
Smart Learning System
The Sky Muster is designed with a smart learning system, which is called the “acceleration machine” or “performance enhancing proxy”.
For example, the network can learn and recognise all the web pages that people view across the Internet and remember the pages to load them faster. This system has been developed exclusively for the nbn® satellite service in partnership with ViaSat.
Sky Muster Satellite Plans from Activ8me offer an overall improved level of service with faster speeds. Activ8me is the first service provider to have a fully functional test site in our Melbourne HQ. Our team of Australian staff are fully trained and ready to connect and support you.
The NBN’s Sky Muster satellite brings better satellite Internet connectivity to regional Australia. To get on-board Sky Muster, call Activ8me today 13 22 88 or visit: https://activ8me.net.au/internet/skymuster
image courtesy of sbs.com.au