If everything goes according to plan, the Starlink satellite network will be able to provide service to phones next year.
The plan was announced by Musk and Sievert during a live event at the Star Base facility in South Texas. The two companies are teaming up on a project called Coverage Above and Beyond, which aims to give T-Mobile customers the ability to use their phones anywhere in the world.
"I think this is a huge game-changing event," Musk said. It is no more dead zones.
The Starlink megaconstellation was photographed.
There are a lot of dead zones in the current landscape, where people can't get a signal on their phones. There are over one million square miles in the United States that are not covered by a cellular network.
Coverage Above and Beyond wants to use Starlink to solve the problem. Coverage Above and Beyond will require Starlink Version 2, which is expected to debut next year, even though none of the currently operational satellites are up to the task.
The version 2 craft will be 23 feet long and tip the scales at over one ton compared to the current Starlink satellites. It's so big that they'll need to be launched on the giant, next- generation transportation system called Starship. If the development of Starship is delayed, Musk said that he may build an interim, Falcon 9-compatible "mini" version 2.
The task of providing Coverage Above and Beyond is so difficult that each version of the craft will need to be equipped with a special antenna.
Musk said that they are the most advanced phased-array antennas in the world.
He said that the antennas had to pick up a very quiet signal from the cellphone. You can imagine how long it would take for that signal to travel 500 miles and then be caught by a satellite. The satellite has to make up for the effect of moving so fast. This is a very challenging technical challenge. We're confident that this will work in the field because it's working in the lab.
T-Mobile customers will be able to use their current phones to access Starlink if Coverage Above and Beyond is a success. He and Musk set expectations that were appropriate.
Musk said that the Starlink coverage is intended to provide basic coverage to areas that are currently dead. He said that coverage Above and Beyond will give a total of 2 to 4 megabits per cell zone, which equates to 1,000 to 2,000 concurrent voice calls or hundreds of thousands of text messages. It won't be a good option for online gaming or video chatting at the moment.
The vision could get bigger. The Starlink direct-to-handset service would like to be available outside of the United States.
Musk said that the invitation was open to carriers around the world. We would love to partner with you and enable this around the world.
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