
The beta testing phase is scheduled to commence early next year, enabling T-Mobile users to send text messages in areas lacking cellular coverage by connecting to SpaceX’s orbiting satellites.
T-Mobile customers can now register to participate in the trial of SpaceX’s satellite-based Starlink service
The service will facilitate messaging via satellite starting early next year. Carrier has officially launched registration for a beta program designed to evaluate satellite connectivity for mobile devices. This initiative follows the recent approval from the FCC for SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to operate commercially.
“The T-Mobile Starlink beta program is available at no cost to all T-Mobile postpaid voice customers with compatible devices,” the carrier announced. “This beta offers a groundbreaking preview of a future largely devoid of cellular dead zones.”
The Starlink “direct to cell” service aims to eliminate dead zones by utilizing SpaceX’s satellites as orbiting cell towers, thereby providing customers with a means to receive signals even in rural and remote locations. T-Mobile specifically notes that the satellite connectivity will be effective across “500,000 square miles of land in the United States that are not served by terrestrial cell towers.”
Tests conducted by SpaceX have demonstrated that the satellites can deliver download speeds of up to 17Mbps and transmit signals that can reach devices located near windows or within users’ pockets. “Among other findings, the satellites have successfully communicated with various models of unmodified Samsung, Apple, and Google devices using [T-Mobile’s] PCS G Block spectrum,” the company reported in March. Furthermore, this technology was employed in October to facilitate emergency SMS messaging for hurricane victims in the southeastern United States.