Australia's nbn has launched the first of two dedicated satellites designed to provide rural broadband services for the National Broadband Network.
The satellite was launched from the Guiana Space Center in South America last week. It will now undergo final testing before coming into commercial operation in mid-2016.
The satellite has been adorably named Sky Muster by six year old Northern Territory schoolchild Bailey Brooks, who won a national drawing competition to name the craft. Her winning drawing was emblazoned on the side of the satellite.
Under the Coalition government's revised model for the NBN, wireless and satellite services will be designed to provide broadband services for around 400,000 premises in rural and remote areas.
Sky Muster and the upcoming second satellite will provide up to a combined 135Gbps of capacity across the nation, capable of providing wholesale download speeds of up to 25Mbps.
The dedicated satellites will replace the current interim satellite service, which long ago reached its maximum capacity.
Experts are concerned that even the two new satellites won't be enough to fulfil the capacity needs of everyone within the coverage area, but a government study recently concluded that there won't be enough demand to fill all capacity on a third satellite.