Satellite Key Milestones
Snapshot of our history
1980s
| 1980 | The National Satellite System group formed within the Overseas Telecommunications Commission to establish Australia’s national satellite system. |
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| 1981 | The Australian Government forms AUSSAT, a government owned company to own and operate the national satellite system. |
| 1985 | Australia’s first two satellites are launched (A1 in August and A2 in November) and domestic satellite services commence in Australia; particularly remote & rural TV broadcasting. |
| 1987 | AUSSAT A3 launched in September to meet the ever-growing demand for satellite services in Australia. A3 adds South West Pacific services including New Zealand coverage. |
1990s
| 1992 | Optus acquired AUSSAT and became Australia’s first privately owned communications carrier, a consortium which included Cable & Wireless. Cable & Wireless Optus launched Optus B1 in August. |
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| 1994 | Optus B3 launched in August and placed into a storage orbit. Optus MobileSat Service launched in August. The world’s first land mobile satellite telephone service. |
| 1995 | Optus B3 commissioned and first Australian pay-TV services commence via satellite. |
| 1998 | Cable & Wireless Optus launched Aurora services and established B3 as Australia’s hotbird. Optus B1 confirmed as New Zealand’s hotbird. |
2000s and the future
| 2001 | Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) completed the acquisition of Cable & Wireless Optus Limited. SingTel Australia now holds 100 per cent of the ordinary shares in Optus. |
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| 2003 | Optus launched in June the world’s largest and most complex hybrid commercial and military communications satellite, Optus C1, in partnership with the Australian Defence Force. |
| 2006 | Optus launched its 8th satellite, Optus D1 on the 13 October 2006. |
| 2007 | Optus launched its 9th satellite, Optus D2 on the 6 October 2007. |
| 2009 | Scheduled to launch its 10th satellite, Optus D3. |