How Starlink is connecting remote First Nations communities – and creating new divides

By Daniel Featherstone, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University
Kieran Hegarty, Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making & Society, RMIT University

In the Cape York community of Wujal Wujal, local service providers used to hold their breath every time a big storm rolled in. Cloud cover could knock out their satellite internet just when they needed it most.

Since installing Starlink’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service, however, everything from video calls to uploading files has become far more reliable – even in heavy rain. People report there is now no lag, whereas with the previous service, Sky Muster, even cloud cover could cause the internet to stop working.

Reliable connectivity is crucial in an emergency.…

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