Australia’s SA Power Networks pioneers satellite connectivity for remote workers

South Australia utility SA Power Networks has become the first in the country to utilise low earth orbit satellite technology for field worker connectivity.

SA Power Networks is utilising the SpaceX Starlink system to provide internet connectivity for field crews working in regional and remote areas where internet was previously unavailable.

Information technology has a crucial role in managing the electricity network as it is essential to safe power restoration and network maintenance as crews use it to coordinate switching and other key tasks.

“We’re already witnessing game-changing accessibility, performance and safety benefits,” said Paul Salter Head of Powerline & Electrical Services at SA Power Networks.

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“Regional crews can now access consistent high-speed internet from anywhere at any time, making it faster and safer to carry out restoration and maintenance tasks and to keep the business and customers informed of their progress.”

The system was piloted last year with the fitting of Starlink systems to 11 vehicles, including several elevated work platform trucks.

The utility now reports moving to fit more than 150 of its vehicles with the technology by the end of 2024.

When completed it will enable the crews to be anywhere around the state at any time and able to make and receive phone calls and connect to the company’s IT network to access the information and business systems.

Starlink is a constellation of almost 6,000 low earth orbit satellites about 550km from the Earth designed to deliver high-speed, low latency internet worldwide.

With a Starlink antenna attached to their vehicles, all the crew members need is a clear view of the sky and Wi-Fi mode on their devices and they can get faster internet than most people get in their homes – up to 500 times faster than the technology used in the past by SA Power Networks, with a round-trip latency of about 25ms.

With the many remote areas in South Australia – as there are also in other parts of Australia – the Starlink connectivity is expected to lead to significant improved performance both for the field workers and customers, with for example faster restoration in the event of an outage.

In the past, it has not been uncommon for field workers to have to drive some distance to obtain connectivity and then to have to drive back to complete the job.

With this also comes the reduced costs of unnecessary trips.