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In August 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced an ambitious plan to expand mobile connectivity on U. S. low-orbit satellites. U. S. The service aims to bring mobile service to spaces in the past underserved, such as national parks, uninhabitable spaces such as deserts and mountains. ranges and even territorial waters. Most of these regions cannot be covered with the classic mobile towers on the surface.
The benefits of satellite connectivity are obvious. It gets a consistent policy regardless of terrain and provides a safety net for users crossing less populated areas. So, in this article, let’s discuss T-Mobile’s partnership with SpaceX and its ambitious task of connecting its smartphone to Starlink satellites in the sky. .
Simply put, T-Mobile and SpaceX intend to use low-orbit satellites as cellular policy in existing U. S. 5G smartphones. According to the operator, more than one million square kilometers of the country do not receive cellular signal. The lack of a policy would likely vary: for example, operators cannot build infrastructure on protected land or oceans. Satellite connectivity enables policy-making in these regions.
That said, satellite connectivity is rarely a very new concept, so why is the partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX so important?Well, that’s because you don’t want a compromised satellite phone to use it. The carrier claims that “the vast “most smartphones” will be compatible with the service. In other words, you may not want to buy any additional gadgets or a new device to enjoy satellite connectivity on T-Mobile.
As for how it works, SpaceX will use its Starlink satellites to broadcast a new network in T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum. Specifically, it will use the 1,900 MHz spectrum that is a component of the operator’s 4G, and now 5G, network. The state-of-the-art Starlink satellites, scheduled for launch next year, will feature stepped antennas designed to pick up signals from small radios. This means that the connection will have to be as elegant as moving from one mobile tower on the ground to another.
However, it’s important to note that satellite connectivity will only present itself when you don’t have a cell tower nearby. This ensures that the service will be available to those who want it. This is lately the main point of promotion from satellite to the Phone: emergency connectivity for those living or traveling in underserved areas.
According to T-Mobile’s press release, satellite connectivity will allow texting (including SMS and MMS) and accessing “certain messaging apps. “The company also hopes to incorporate voice and data connectivity in the future. That said, developers of WhatsApp and the like will need to optimize their apps to make sure they work with network paints.
In a post-launch tweet, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that Starlink V2 satellites will reach between 2 and 4 Mbps per mobile space. That’s enough for texting and voice calls, but not much else. Note that this bandwidth will need to be shared among all users in the mobile area.
However, don’t expect messages to be delivered at the same time. It can take up to an hour for a message to be transmitted. You’ll also be clearly visual from the sky: slight obstructions, such as treetops, will increase the delay.
We still don’t know much about T-Mobile’s plans or pricing design for satellite connectivity. The carrier intends to include it for free in its “most popular T-Mobile plans,” but CEO Mike Sievert hasn’t committed to the company. Meanwhile, with “lower cost” plans, you’ll have to pay an additional monthly fee. However, Sievert said the price would be lower than the competition.
Looking at existing satellite connectivity options, it becomes clear that knowledge from heaven to earth is expensive. Garmin’s inReach subscription plans start at $14. 95 for unlimited SOS and just 10 text messages. It is imaginable that T-Mobile and SpaceX will break into this segment. However, expect some limitations to apply.
Originally, we were told that this feature would start rolling out sometime in 2023. The year is almost over and yet there are still some concrete main points about when this will happen.
So what does it offer? While the two corporations are silent on the launch date of the new Starlink partnership, thankfully, a new filing with the FCC in July gives us at least a slightly more accurate idea of what’s going on.
It turns out that the FCC hasn’t granted approval yet. To that end, Starlink’s vice president of satellite policy, David Goldman, sent this letter to the FCC:
You can read the rest of the FCC record here, but basically, it appears that the competition is trying to prevent the deal from going ahead due to considerations that the FCC could simply grant SpaceX permission to use the spectrum from the PCS G Block.
Ultimately, Starlink and T-Mobile are still working with this, but regulatory hurdles lately are slowing things down.