One NZ launches its Starlink Direct to Mobile service today – but with a couple of initial limitations

One NZ CEO Jason Paris (right) with One NZ engineers testing their Direct to Call partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Photo / Dean Purcell

One NZ is launching its Starlink Direct to Mobile service today – at no extra cost for those on eligible plans, but with a couple of initial limitations.

There’s no support for Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s mainstay Galaxy S series, and those users will spend up to 10 minutes foot-tapping before messages are sent and received – though usually it will take less than a third of that time, the telco says.

The service takes advantage of around 300 low-Earth orbiting Starlink satellites that can act as “cell towers in the sky”, allowing a stock-standard smartphone to send a text message from anywhere in New Zealand – or up to 12 nautical miles out to sea at NZ’s territorial limit.

The telco says it will initially take up to 10 minutes to send a text via Starlink’s Direct to Mobile (or One NZ Satellite TXT, as the telco is branding it).

The wait is for another mobile-capable Starlink satellite to appear over the horizon. But it says most messages should be sent and received within three minutes.

One NZ had been aiming for a two-minute send-and-receive process at launch.

Once Starlink (owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX) has launched enough satellites – “in a few months” – there should be continuous text service. Voice and data via satellite are also promised by the end of next year.

One NZ earlier flagged that only a few tens of thousands of its customers would be able to use the service at launch.

That has proved to be the case.

Today, the service is restricted to Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Oppo Find X8 Pro owners.

One NZ says more handsets will be added over 2025.

One NZ and Starlink testing at Wenderholm Regional Park – a notorious black spot for all three of our mobile networks.

There was no immediate timeline for Apple’s iPhone and other missing models.

“Despite extensive testing, we aren’t able to begin the service with any iPhones, but we are aiming for a fast follow of more phones over the coming months,” a spokesman said.

One NZ needs handset makers to carry out a firmware upgrade in readiness for Direct to Mobile (formerly branded as Direct to Cell by Starlink’s owner, Elon Musk’s SpaceX.)

A wrinkle is that Apple already has an Emergency SOS via satellite service for iPhone 15 and 16 owners (on Spark, 2degrees or One NZ) in New Zealand, in partnership with satellite operator Globalstar. In the US and Canada, Apple recently expanded its satellite service to cover everyday messaging, too. The firm has yet to offer a timeline for expanding the upgrade beyond North America.

Eligible plans

Current consumer Pay Monthly plans will include One NZ Satellite TXT for no extra charge, including Companion Group Plans. Current Endless Business mobile plans will also include new services at no extra cost.

One NZ says if you’ve got an eligible phone and plan, it will be in touch with you.

Those with One NZ wholesale partners (or mobile virtual network operators) like Kogan Mobile will not get access, whatever their plan.

One NZ chief executive Jason Paris said Cyclone Gabrielle was one of the reasons his company went looking for new technologies – and that the new satellite service will be available for emergency texting (and later calling) for customers on any network.

However, One NZ emphasises it “provides an additional layer of protection for New Zealand’s traditional communication networks, and is not a replacement for existing emergency tools”.

Exclusive – for a spell

One NZ is one of several telcos around the world which have paid Starlink to be their exclusive launch partner for direct-to-mobile in their country. Others include T-Mobile in the US and Optus in Australia.

Musk posted to social media platform X saying T-Mobile had a one-year exclusive deal.

Infratil-owned One NZ has declined to say how much it paid for exclusivity or for how long – but has indicated it has a right of renewal.

While it’s not changing anything extra for the service, the telco hopes it will lure customers from rivals, and encourage its pre-pay customers (who are ineligible) on to more expensive contract (or “Pay Monthly”) plans.

2degrees and Spark have thrown in their mobile satellite calling lot with Lynk – a putative Starlink rival.

The new service will take advantage of the six ground stations SpaceX has dotted around NZ at Puwera, Te Hana, Clevedon, Hinds, Cromwell and Awarua.

While successful testing has taken place, there’s no timeframe for the launch of an NZ Lynk service at this point.

Lynk only launched five satellites, with a licence for a further five, a spokesman for the US firm told the Herald last month. Starlink has around 6000 satellites in orbit, even if only around 300 (and counting) are its larger second-generation model capable of supporting Direct to Mobile.

The Amazon-owned Project Kuiper, which recently bought land and radio spectrum rights for ground stations in New Zealand, also plans a network of thousands of mobile-capable comms satellites. However, it so far only has two prototypes in orbit.

2degrees chief executive Mark Callander told the Herald in a few years’ time, he anticipates all NZ telcos will have deals with all of the major satellite operators.

On November 13, the Commerce Commission filed Fair Trading Act charges against One NZ over its April-July 2023 initial marketing campaign for its pending Starlink partnership, which used a “100% Mobile Coverage” tagline.

The watchdog claimed the telco was not upfront enough about the initial service being text-only, with a delay, and requiring a line of sight to the sky. One NZ said it would “vigorously defend” the charges.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.