A new "satellite-to-cellular" service will be offered by T-Mobile and Space Exploration Technologies.
T-Mobile's nationwide mid-band 5G spectrum will be used to provide "near complete coverage" in most areas across the U.S., thanks to the new technology. The technology would eliminate "mobile dead zones" and keep customers connected beyond the reach of cell towers, which would be helpful in emergency situations.
T-Mobile and SpaceX want to establish roaming agreements with international carriers so that they can offer the service worldwide in the future.
"The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones in the world for your cell phone," said Musk in the press release. We are very excited to do this with T-Mobile.
The launch of the service for the iPhone will be explained below.
T-Mobile said that most of its phones will be compatible with the new satellite-to-cellular service. The companies did not respond to our requests for comment after we contacted them.
T-Mobile said it won't need a Starlink terminal or any other hardware to connect to satellite.
The majority of existing phones will be compatible with T-Mobile's satellite service right out of the box, so it doesn't seem like Apple's upcoming models will need it.
According to Mark Gurman, Apple's partner would likely be Globalstar, rather than SpaceX, so the feature may be unrelated to the report.
At a press event in Texas, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the carrier has yet to start working with other companies on how they will integrate the technology, suggesting that Apple is not currently involved with the plans. Even if the companies don't discuss the matter, Apple could choose to partner with T-Mobile and SpaceX to support the service on the phone in the future.
We'll have to wait for the companies to give more information about the technology, but it's possible Starlink will require an older phone.
There will be a constellation of second-generation Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit that can be used to connect to T-Mobile's 5G spectrum without any additional hardware. T-Mobile said the service will provide almost complete coverage almost anywhere a customer can see the sky, and Musk said the service should work when a person has the phone in their pocket or is in a vehicle.
The satellite-to-cellular service was designed to eliminate mobile dead zones. The service is not intended to be a substitute for fast cell networks in urban and suburban areas, but will ensure that people can stay connected in areas without cell towers for basic communication by text message and eventually phone calls.
Most areas of the continental U.S., Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territorial waters will be covered by the service.
T-Mobile and SpaceX want to establish roaming agreements with international carriers so that they can offer the service worldwide in the future.
T-Mobile plans to offer Starlink on its most popular plans for free. Sievert said that T-Mobile could charge a monthly fee to access the service, which would be less expensive than satellite service providers.
T-Mobile and SpaceX said that Starlink will initially work with text messages and messaging apps. It's not clear if Apple's iMessage service will be supported when it launches.
The companies plan to add voice and data coverage in the future, but the speeds will be limited.
Second- generation Starlink satellites will be able to provide data speeds of up to 2-4 Mbps to each cell zone, which will be suitable for text messages and eventually phone calls when supported, according to Musk.
Depending on how many T-Mobile customers are using the service at the same time, the speeds may be different. If a cell is not very busy, Musk said there is the possibility that users could play a little bit of video in the future, but the service is not intended for this sort of usage.
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