T-Mobile and SpaceX Starlink say your 5G phone will connect to satellites next year

At an event hosted by T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Musk, the company said it was getting rid of mobile dead zones thanks to a partnership with Starlink.

Second-generation Starlink satellites will be able to broadcast service using part of T-Mobile's mid-band 5G spectrum. The new satellites will have big, big antennas to enable the new connections, and the plan is to launch the equipment using its upcoming Starship rocket. When T-Mobile customers come to other countries, they could also use those connections, as the two executives said they are seeking partnerships with mobile carriers around the world who would be interested in reciprocal spectrum sharing agreements.

Image: SpaceX

If you have a clear view of the sky, the company will allow you to text, send messages, and even use a messaging app. If there aren't a lot of people in the cell zone, you might have a little bit of video. Operators of messaging apps will need to work with T-Mobile and Starlink to recognize the satellite connection once it's launched.

Musk said that it was possible to work without access to Starlink's full satellite constellation. It could use an intermittent connection as satellites pass within range for "basic" coverage if it limited it to certain messages and services.

Starlink V2, launching next year, will transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022

Sievert hopes that the service will eventually include data. He said that when it launches, it will be included for free in the carrier's most popular plans.

T-Mobile says that current phones can use the network. Satellite communications is not the kind of tech T-Mobile is banking on, even though rumors have been circulating that future iPhones will include the service. The phone you currently have will work.

Sievert said that T-Mobile was open to the idea of using SpaceX for its network back up in the future. It may help make it less expensive for the carrier to expand its network by a few steps.

The cost of its equipment was a factor that led to the loss of the rural internet subsidy bid. It could help its case with the FCC if it could use T-Mobile's existing equipment in rural areas. The idea of rural coverage was hit on by the presentation on Thursday.

The person is developing.