SpaceX and T-Mobile say your phone will connect directly to Starlink satellites | Mashable.
SpaceX and T-Mobile say your phone will connect directly to Starlink satellites
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| T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (left) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (right). Credit: YouTube/SpaceX |
Dead zones may be a thing of the past for T-Mobile subscribers.
At a joint event Thursday, SpaceX and T-Mobile announced a plan to expand coverage for T-Mobile users, allowing them to connect directly to SpaceX's Starlink satellites.
Here's how this will work: A slice of T-Mobile's 5G spectrum will be used for connectivity, meaning that existing 5G phones should be able to connect without modifications. On the other end will be Starlink's second generation satellites with bigger antennas, which are launching next year.
There are limits to this, though. According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, connectivity speed will be "2 to 4 Mbits per cell zone," which should be enough for texting and voice calls, but not high bandwidth content such as high-resolution video and gaming.
The service will first be offered as beta in select areas, "at the end of next year." It will be free with some of T-Mobile plans, but probably not the cheapest ones.
Another cool tidbit: At the event, Musk said that Tesla vehicles will also get access to this type of coverage, which could be a potential life-saver if your car ever gets stuck in the middle of nowhere.
SpaceX and T-Mobile also issued an open invitation to other carriers to "collaborate for truly global connectivity."
Check out the video of the entire event below.
Great news for hurricane aftermath victims.
ReplyDeleteI hope so cause t-mobiles connection sucks right now!
ReplyDeleteNO, thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou forgot a satanist as well
ReplyDeleteVery Stunning, congrats.
ReplyDelete👏👏👏👏😎 elonmusk
ReplyDeleteReminds me of PiperNet elonmusk
ReplyDeleteSo, we’re expecting this in like 2028, right? That’s about on par with a Musk promise.
ReplyDeleteWell the human race has put a load of space rubbish on other planets now it’s our air space turn ?
ReplyDeleteSo they’re combining for world wide coverage by using t-mobiles 5G next work to connect to starlink? 2-4 meg. Right now T-Mobile’s network is on-par with Verizon’s, some would say they have surpassed Verizon. With that said, T-mobile would just need to work on their pricing.
ReplyDeleteWith T-mobile and starlink joining forces, Verizon and AT&T and all landline services should be scared.
Ok but good will that do if starlink doesn't get better
ReplyDeleteConsider this is will literally save lives I feel like this should be cross network. Hoping the government forces them to sign agreements so this works on every carrier.
ReplyDeleteMy battery is crying just thinking about it
ReplyDeleteGod, ain’t that the truth.
DeleteIf it uses the same 5G radio why would this be more battery intensive than normal 5G data? (Don’t know anything about satellite internet technology so I’m genuinely asking)
DeleteThe farther away that an antenna has to transmit, the more power it requires (based on the Inverse Square Law). If you stand right next to a tower, the power requirements are very small. But the farther away you are, the more power your cell phone has to use to transmit to it (you might notice this when roaming or using a weak signal. your phone starts heating up from power draw, and your battery drains faster).
DeleteThese satellites will be 550km (about 340 miles) away at their closest. Transmitting will to them will take a lot of power.
That being said, this probably wont exactly kill your battery, as they are going to be using very slow transmission speeds, and it sounds like it will only occasionally connect.
The FCC mandates a maximum power output for cell phones. It won’t crazily transmit a 100 watt signal or something like that. The cell phone isn’t going to transmit any more powerful a signal than what it does when it has one bar and has a weak signal from a tower.
DeleteThere’s the issue of the modem registering and re-registering to sites it’s closest to. Assuming this is just a "cell site in the sky" traveling at 17,000 miles/hr the transmit side from your phone still only has 0.7watt power set by FCC and international standards bodies (to prevent cancer.)
DeleteAuth/reauth would need to occur whenever the satellite exits line of sight, depleting battery dramatically as it attempts to re-establish connectivity to the home network, roaming network and then satellite.
Poor battery, indeed.
Satellite phones have existed for 20+ years. Does anyone remember GlobeStar? Looks like a service for maritime and the oil industry.
ReplyDeleteI just don’t see this being viable, but that’s never been something that has prevented T-Mobile from spending money on advertising.
Additionally, a StarLink terminal has a rather large parabolic antenna to collect and amplify the signal at its source. A cell phone doesn’t have a dish on it. I suppose if we change customer behavior to make a parabolic dish on a phone as "cool" perhaps it’d work.
The other benefit is that when a cloud flies overhead, the connection is likely going to be slowed down or lost. Will make for an interesting excuse to get out of zoom calls…!
Point is— I have to rely on a T-Mobile Microcell and pay Comcast at home when my work line (on Verizon) works on its own. Can’t wait to see the marketing for this service.
Did you even read the article?
DeleteSure did
DeleteThat’s worrisome.
DeleteThis is huge in so many ways, even if only to spark innovation and push their competitors and the cellular industry in general towards better coverage all around.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/5M7BxuEPcCE It's here finally
DeleteIt's huge in 0 ways, they are 5 years behind AST Spacemobile. They can do texting/calling/4G/5G data, meanwhile Starlink still in the infant idea phase and need another 1-2 years to figure out basic texting at an incredibly low BW.
DeleteWow this is game changing. It’s actually the steps needed for true global connectivity.
ReplyDeleteWould love to always have some type of connection even if I’m far off in the mountains. Exciting stuff.
Great respects for T Mobile and SpaceX for doing such a beautiful step to a brighter future.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous and exciting partnership. So glad I am a T- Mobile and SpaceX and Starlink customer! Congrats Elon and T-Mobile
ReplyDeleteWhat a time to be alive. Truly inspirational stuff here! So excited for the future.
ReplyDeleteA giant leap in telecommunications. Hopefully other vast countries like Australia, will follow the lead of USA
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Life saving technology for sure. Keep ever pushing forward, you're doing great!
ReplyDeleteI really want SpaceX to have successful competition in this space, there could be so much innovation
ReplyDeleteSpace X workers, Space X mobile, and Space X Starships what a fabulous moment, enjoy your new beginnings you jolly good Space X people.
ReplyDeleteThe future of technology is gonna be literally life saving in some ways.
ReplyDeleteElon is right. This Starlink service will for sure save lives. I also appreciate and respect that existing cellular services are being included rather than competing with them. Jess
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing that people don't get; Elon said it, 'We'd love to have T Mobile on Mars.' They laugh, but that's the end game of both companies, and they are offering an open invitation to all global carriers to participate.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic; thank you both companies for this groundbreaking announcement.
Imagine how many carriers around the world will sign up to SpaceX for cell towers in the sky. Satellites will make Elon a trillionaire.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job SpaceX/Starlink team! This is btw just the beginning! Starlink will be The biggest and most important Player in the communication sector very soon.
ReplyDeleteWow amazing and the sprint and T-Mobile merger took a while but who would of thought that they would get this big .
ReplyDeleteThat is a mega Corporation! I am really excited about this. Hopefully the public understands the big impact on planet earth with this technology. That’s to Elon Musk and his SpaceX Team. Great work and I am looking forward to see you the results.
ReplyDeleteI love that he starts explaining Doppler effect issues before realising he's lost the crowd.
ReplyDeleteElon is Brilliant. Always at the right place at the right time.
ReplyDelete