Vocus, Australia's specialist digital infrastructure provider, has launched a suite of innovative rapid deployment solutions powered by LEO satellite equipment, enabling businesses to establish metro-grade connectivity in even the most remote locations in a matter of hours.

Vocus’ Rapid Satellite and Edge Compute Pod is central to the new range, built by Vocus’ First Nations Strategic Partner Kali-Tech Aboriginal Corporation. The Pod is a custom-designed shipping container pre-fitted with multiple bonded Vocus Satellite – Starlink terminals and edge compute hardware.

The Pod is self-contained and constructed in a warehouse then shipped directly to remote sites like mines, ready to be switched on and used straightaway. The Pod can be anchored at site or remain on a trailer when only required for shorter periods.

For easily portable deployment, a series of ruggedised cases housing all the required power and routing equipment allows Vocus Satellite – Starlink to be set up in the field.

A new vehicle mounting system also allows Starlink terminals to be securely fitted to a vehicle’s roof racks without the need for costly custom installation.

It's not just the network, it's what we've done with it

Kevin Griffen, General Manager Enterprise and Government at Vocus said the new solutions embody Vocus' approach to innovation.

“We've taken leading technology and transformed how it can be deployed, making it easier than ever to get remote operations connected,” he said

“For our mining and resources customers, that means they can establish high-speed connectivity at exploration sites or new operations almost instantly.

“For emergency services and disaster recovery teams, it enables them to stay connected as they move into an area to establish operations very quickly.”

Griffen said Vocus had been first to market with Starlink solutions for enterprise and government customers in Australia, and had used the 18 months since launch to work with customers and develop solutions for real business needs.

“It’s one thing to have satellite coverage across a country as vast as Australia. It’s another to make it rapidly deployable. What we’re continuing to strive for is making low-earth orbit satellite technology easy to buy, install, and use in as many real-life situations as possible,” he said.

Edge compute pod enables low-latency applications

The flagship Vocus Rapid Satellite and Edge Compute Pod provides both blisteringly fast connectivity up to 1.7Gbps (depending on configuration chosen and network availability), along with integrated HPE Greenlake edge servers for instant hybrid cloud connectivity.

The combination of the two capabilities enables businesses to run applications that require fast response times even in the most remote locations.

"Having computing power at the edge, right there on site, opens up enormous possibilities," said Griffen.

"It means data-intensive, latency-sensitive applications like real-time analytics, inference model AI and machine learning are now possible in the field.

“This has the potential to unlock significant productivity and safety gains for industries like mining and resources."

“The Pods have sophisticated HPE Greenlake servers which can also orchestrate with nearby data centres, allowing different levels of edge compute, from right there on the site to a nearby NEXTDC tier III edge data centre, to the largest metro data centres housing the global hyperscaler cloud providers.”

The company’s suite of Vocus Satellite – Starlink solutions are now available as part of its range of connectivity services spanning national fibre optic networks, private 4G/5G wireless and satellite.

Vocus was recently awarded funding under the Commonwealth Government’s Telecommunications Disaster Resilience Innovation program to develop its ‘Mobile network in the sky’ solution, which combines Vocus Satellite – Starlink with a heavy lift drone carrying a mobile base station capable of beaming 4G/5G coverage across a 28 square kilometre area.