- The new satellites are supposed to ensure connectivity even where the terrestrial signal cannot reach
- The test operation will start with the American T-Mobile, you can connect with any LTE phone
- It will not be a competition to traditional operators (yet?).
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced the launch of a pioneering series of Starlink satellites designed to connect directly to regular mobile phones, taking a major step towards a test phase scheduled for later this year.
An ordinary mobile phone with LTE is enough
During the night mission, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 satellites, six of which are specially equipped to connect directly to mobile phones. The initiative was approved by US regulators last month and is the result of a collaboration with T-Mobile, including partnerships in countries such as Australia, Canada and Japan to begin with.
The US Federal Communications Commission has granted SpaceX a 180-day trial period. The trials will include 840 satellites that will provide 4G services to approximately two thousand standard smartphones. These satellites, which act as orbital cell towers, are part of SpaceX’s ambitious plan to improve global communications.
The six @Starlink satellites on this mission with Direct to Cell capability will further global connectivity and help to eliminate dead zones → pic.twitter.com/zFy7SrpsYs
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 3, 2024
Starlink’s website lists plans to enable text messaging services within this year, followed by voice and data capabilities within the next year. In addition, the satellites are also expected to support Internet of Things (IoT) devices within the next year. However, these services will be subject to regulatory approval before commercial operations begin.
Covering the most remote areas
T-Mobile’s press release talks about more than 1.3 million square kilometers that are not covered by a cell signal in North America, not to mention the vast areas of ocean that are simply beyond the reach of ground stations.
For the time being, and for the foreseeable future it will only be a kind of test and very limited operation, however, over time it can be assumed that both the coverage and the service itself will be expanded to more countries and to more operators. Once this actually happens across the board and across all operators, we will theoretically never have to deal with signal outages or the inability to call in an emergency anywhere.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pointed out on the X network but also on the limitations of the service compared to established land mobile networks and characterized it as a supplement rather than a replacement or direct competition for traditional mobile services.
Author of the article
Adam Homola
New technologies have fascinated me since an early age. Over time, my long-term interest in games and the gaming industry was naturally joined by hardware, software, internet services and, from 2022, artificial intelligence.
2024-01-04 16:10:00
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