SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will connect directly to T-Mobile phones to provide phone service in the most isolated places that cell towers can’t reach.
SpaceX and T-Mobile plan to start testing their satellite telephony as early as this year, CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, CNBC reported.
“We will learn a lot by doing – not necessarily analyzing – and going out,” said Jonathan Hoefeller, SpaceX vice president of corporate sales, during a panel at the Satellite 2023 conference in Washington, CNBC reports.
Space X and T-Mobile announced in August that they want to end whitespace thanks to satellites. SpaceX Starlink satellites will connect directly to T-Mobile phones to provide phone service in the most isolated places that cell towers cannot reach.
The new service, which will use the thousands of SpaceX Starlink satellites already in orbit and run on existing phones, was expected to start with text messaging and reception from late 2023, with voice services expected to follow.
4000 Starlink satellites
Although satellite Internet access has been around for several years, users currently require specialized equipment such as Starlink terminals.
The service “will not have the bandwidth of a Starlink terminal, but it will allow you to send text messages, images, and if there are not too many people in the mobile zone, you might even have some video,” Elon Musk. discussed in August.
It will “save lives,” the American billionaire also suggested, taking a cue from the lost tourists who are currently unable to call for help.
To date, SpaceX has launched about 4,000 Starlink satellites and recently deployed its more powerful V2 Mini satellites, according to CNBC. According to Jonathan Hoefeller, the American company will produce six satellites a day at its facilities near Seattle and will turn out “thousands” of user terminals a day.
The SpaceX chief also said on Monday that Space X currently has “over” one million Starlink users.