T-Mobile opens beta for Starlink smartphone connectivity

On By Littum

TAMPA, Fla. — T-Mobile has opened beta registration for Starlink’s direct-to-smartphone satellite service, enabling text messaging early next year on select newer devices in most clear-sky U.S. cellular dead zones.

The free beta program is available to all T-Mobile customers with compatible devices and postpaid voice plans, the carrier announced Dec. 16, though first responders will get priority access due to limited initial capacity.

The company declined to detail capacity and device limitations, but said the beta program would gradually expand to more devices via software updates.

“Spaces are limited, but service will be available in most areas and most of the time,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said.

SpaceX has launched over 300 Starlink satellites with direct-to-smartphone payloads and was recently authorized to provide the service in the United States from up to 7,500 satellites.

The satellites would use T-Mobile’s radio waves to connect devices across the 1.29 million square miles of land in the country not covered by cell towers.

Unlike Apple’s space-enabled messaging for iPhones, introduced in 2022 via the Globalstar constellation, T-Mobile said the Starlink-powered connection doesn’t require users to point their phones at the sky in search of a signal.

T-Mobile also has reciprocal Starlink roaming agreements with telcos KDDI (Japan), Optus (Australia), One NZ (New Zealand), Salt (Switzerland), Entel (Chile and Peru) and Rogers (Canada), but declined to say. when the service could be expanded outside the United States.

The T-Mobile spokesperson said the duration of the beta test before a commercial launch will depend on user feedback.

The Federal Communications Commission’s approval of what the regulator calls Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) is conditional on the service not interfering with other networks.

The FCC has also delayed a decision on whether to allow SpaceX to increase the radio emission power of its direct-to-smartphone satellites, which the company says is necessary to support real-time voice and other higher-bandwidth capabilities.

Meanwhile, US telcos AT&T and Verizon are seeking FCC permission to test rival direct-to-smartphone services in partnership with AST SpaceMobile, which deployed its first five commercial spacecraft in September on a SpaceX Falcon 9.