30 Years of Satellite Milestones 

1981 – Australian Government forms AUSSAT

1985 – 27 August – Aussat 1 – launched

1985 – 27 November – Aussat 2 – launched

1986 – Remote and regional TV services (ABC, SBS, Imparja) commence on Aussat 1

1987 – 16 September – Aussat 3 launched

1992 – January – Optus acquired AUSSAT, a group which included Cable & Wireless

1992 – 13 August – Optus B1 Satellite launched

1992 – 21 December – Optus B2 satellite (failed at launch)

1994 – 27 August – Optus B3 Satellite launched

1994 – August MobileSat service launched and is the world’s first mobile land satellite service

1995 – Galaxy, the first Pay TV operator in Australia commences Pay TV services on Optus B1

2001 – Cellular backhaul for regional GSM phone base stations introduced

2001 – Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) acquired Cable & Wireless Optus

2003 – Optus C1 Satellite launched, a commercial and military hybrid satellite

2006 – Optus D1 Satellite launched

2007 – Optus D2 Satellite launched

2009 – 21 August – Optus D3 Satellite launched, enabling Foxtel to greatly expand their HD Channels

2011 – 1 July – NBN interim satellite service launched using D2 capacity

2013 – Launched commercial SatZone services

2013 – December – Reached 45,000 VSAT services across Australia and New Zealand

2014 – 12 September – Optus 10 Satellite launched

2015 – August/September – Optus Satellite Celebrates 30 Years