(Los Angeles) SpaceX satellites will connect directly to T-Mobile phones to provide telephone network to the most isolated places, beyond the range of cell towers, the firm of Elon Musk and the German giant announced on Thursday. telecoms.
Posted yesterday at 9:44 p.m.
The new service, which will use SpaceX’s thousands of Starlink satellites already in orbit and work on existing phones, will start by enabling texting and receiving from late 2023, with voice services expected to follow.
“The important thing is that this means there will be no more white areas – anywhere in the world – for your phone,” Elon Musk said at an event at SpaceX’s Starbase site in Texas.
The service will “save lives”, said the billionaire, taking the example of lost hikers who are currently unable to call for help.
Although satellite Internet access has existed for several years, users currently require specialized equipment, such as Starlink terminals.
The service “won’t have the kind of bandwidth that a Starlink terminal would have, but will allow texting, pictures, and if there aren’t too many people in the mobile area, you could even potentially have some video,” Elon Musk argued.
T-Mobile boss Mike Sievert said he expects the service to be included for free on most current subscription plans, but there may be a user surcharge on subscriptions to lowest cost.
The service will initially be offered to US customers, but T-Mobile is expected to expand to other markets in the future, Mike Sievert said.
“It’s like putting a cell tower in the sky. But much more complicated, ”he also explained.
Competition in the satellite Internet access market is rapidly intensifying.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently announced plans to eventually launch some 3,200 satellites as governments get in on the action.
China plans to launch a constellation of 13,000 satellites named Guowang and the European Union wants to deploy around 250 by 2024.