Rural and regional Australians on NBN Co’s Sky Muster satellite service are set for a broadband data boost, with NBN Co today announcing new plans that will no longer count the use of essential internet services – including email, general web browsing and critical software updates – towards monthly data allowances.

“Our team is also continuing to consult with industry on a number of additional wholesale product updates on the Sky Muster satellite service, including a regional enterprise service as well as additional applications to enable remote telehealth and distance education,” noted NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue.

According to the company rolling out the Australian national broadband network, the new Sky Muster Plus product is scheduled to be available next year for eligible users in its satellite network footprint.

“This new product will help deliver fast download speeds by providing access to a wholesale 25Mbps product that can now burst above 25 Mbps wholesale speed when applications and network support allows,” it added.

Last year, the company doubled the maximum monthly wholesale data limits on Sky Muster satellite services (from 150GB to 300GB per month) and also increased the average peak data allowance that phone and internet providers can offer to users by 50 per cent (from 30GB to 45GB).

“We have been listening to feedback from consumers and industry on what we can do to improve customer experience on the NBN Sky Muster network,” said Rue. “The new Sky Muster Plus product is designed to give regional and rural Australians peace of mind knowing that essential internet services, like emailing loved ones or accessing internet banking, should not slow down if their monthly data limit has been exceeded.”