The new nbn® Sky Muster® satellite service is playing a significant role in uplifting the quality of education in regional Australia.
According to the North Queensland Register, since having the Sky Muster® education port connected, many distance students now have access to faster Internet and enjoy their school lessons better. An example is Ethan Semple, a year 5 student, who said the recent connection of his school room at Richmond to the nbn® Sky Muster® satellite has improved his linkage with his classmates.
“I can do my on-air lessons with a webcam now and be able to see my teacher and friends without dropping out. I am so happy I can now use iPad for school too, because for the first time the signal is so strong and the videos in my papers are playing without freezing. The new satellite is my connection to education, to the world,”
According to Kim Hughes, President of Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) Queensland, the successful installation of the first official connections of the priority education port to the Sky Muster® satellite marks a new era for remote access. The first connections are now working beyond expectations.
“ICPA is excited the first schoolrooms have the ‘blue light of connection’ as we have been working closely with the nbn® and the Education Department to assist families to gain early access to the service port so homeschool rooms can be online as soon as possible,”
-Hughes said as quoted in the North Queensland Register.
This development is in line with the federal government’s directive to the nbn® to develop a dedicated port on the new satellite modems for educational use, providing priority access to a dedicated Sky Muster® connection through an authorised retail service provider (RSP).
After the port has been installed, users can enjoy a maximum download data allowance of 50GB and a maximum upload allowance of 8GB per student within a rolling four-week period.
Families will pay for the port plan, but if they are enrolled at a Queensland School of Distance Education, the Internet allowance from Education Queensland will offset the cost.
However, Mrs Hughes noted that only 388 students, out of more than 1,000 had signed up for this service. She urged Queensland families with geographically isolated students to contact ICPA to get connected.
Sky Muster education plans are now available for eligible students who study via distance education. Activ8me, the largest nbn® Satellite RSP in Australia and an acknowledged expert in rural and remote communications, offers Education Port Plans for up to 3 students per household. Each of them is entitled to 50GB of Anytime Data with no peak or off-peak data restrictions. Each student will need to be eligible and subject to verification from the State Education Department.
The NBN’s Sky Muster satellite brings better satellite Internet connectivity to regional Australia. To get onboard Sky Muster, call Activ8me today 13 22 88 or visit: https://activ8me.net.au/internet/skymuster