T-Mobile opens beta for Starlink smartphone connectivity

TAMPA, Fla. – T-Mobile has opened beta registration for Starlink’s direct-to-smartphone satellite service, enabling text messaging on select newer devices in most U.S. cell service zones with a clear view of the sky early next year.

The free beta program is available to all T-Mobile customers with compatible devices and postpaid voice plans, the telecommunications company announced Dec. 16, although first responders will receive priority access due to limited initial capacity.

The company declined to provide details on capacity and device limitations, but said the beta program would be gradually expanded to more devices via software updates.

“Spots are limited, but service will be available in most areas and most times,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said.

SpaceX has launched over 300 Starlink satellites with direct-to-smartphone payloads and recently received permission to provide the service in the United States from up to 7,500 satellites.

The satellites would use T-Mobile’s radio waves to connect devices across the country’s 1.29 million square kilometers of land not covered by cell towers.

Unlike Apple’s space-based messaging for iPhones, which launched in 2022 via Globalstar’s constellation, Starlink-based connectivity doesn’t require users to point their phones at the sky in search of a signal, according to T-Mobile.

T-Mobile also has Starlink reciprocal roaming agreements with telecommunications companies KDDI (Japan), Optus (Australia), One NZ (New Zealand), Salt (Switzerland), Entel (Chile and Peru) and Rogers (Canada), but wanted this did not say when the service might expand outside the United States.

The T-Mobile spokesman said the length of beta testing before a commercial launch will depend on user feedback.

The Federal Communications Commission’s approval for what the regulator calls Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) requires that the service does not interfere with other networks.

The FCC has also postponed a decision on whether to allow SpaceX to increase the radio emission power of its direct-to-smartphone satellites, which the company says is needed to support real-time voice and other higher-bandwidth features.

Meanwhile, US telecommunications companies AT&T and Verizon are seeking FCC approval to test competing direct-to-smartphone services in collaboration with AST SpaceMobile, which deployed its first five commercial spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in September.

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