Telecom was using solar power and new digital radio technology to extend modern telephone services across some of Australia's most remote communities.

The program had its origins in 1974, when Telecom used solar energy to power a remote telephone link at Wilkatana, about 35km north of Port Augusta in South Australia. The solar-powered VHF radio telephone system was soon extended to other rural and remote areas.

By 1991, Telecom's solar installations were producing about two megawatts of electricity, making it the world's largest commercial user of solar power.

The first major telecommunications link powered entirely by solar energy was installed in 1979 between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, followed by another between Kalgoorlie and Leonora in WA and between Coen and Mossman in Queensland.

Telecom's Rural and Remote Areas Program aimed to provide modern, automatic telecommunications services to Australians regardless of where they lived. By 1992, it expected every customer to be able to dial directly rather than rely on a telephonist to make connections.

A major part of the program was Telecom's Digital Radio Concentrator System, developed by researchers in Melbourne. The system allowed numerous communication channels to operate simultaneously without reducing transmission quality.

Networks used chains of radio repeaters, generally positioned about 35 to 40km apart. Solar photovoltaic panels increasingly replaced diesel generators and other conventional power sources at these remote sites because of their reliability and low maintenance requirements.

Telecom said that by the end of the remote communities program, rural Australians would have access to fully automatic 24-hour telephone services along with STD and ISD calls, 008 services, facsimile, telex, teleconferencing, videotex and computerised data communications.