paceX has finally been granted permission from the FCC to move forward with its plans to provide a direct-to-phone version of the Starlink Satellite
internet service. In this plan, T-Mobile will be SpaceX’s collaborator and a few more local provisos will be in place.
This collaboration goes back to 2022 when T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced their possible partnership. At the time of their announcement, they foresaw the collaboration to be available in 2023, which did not happen. Even more so, it would possibly still take a few more as the two telecommunication giants just received the regulatory approval.
However, it's still a sudden announcement from Starlink which will make its appearance on the US market before its rivals do so. Another direct-to-phone satellite provider is Lynk, which is already in orbit but does not yet have any US commercial partners.
Even more so, SpaceX will have the possibility of using some wireless bands that are in a close partnership with T-Mobile as their terrestrial operator, in order for customers that have compatible devices to communicate, as TechCrunch reported.
During the announcement, the leaders of the two companies highlighted that this process requires more than the approval that they already received as they still need to figure out how the connection between the phone and the cell tower in this situation is a satellite floating up in space will take place. However, as the FCC reported in its official statement, it seems like the two communication companies had already figured that out.
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“We find that SpaceX and T-Mobile’s SCS operations will yield many benefits, including an increase in access to emergency services in areas where consumers would otherwise not have the capability to access a terrestrial network to call or text 911, as evidenced, for example, through SpaceX’s provision of emergency SCS in areas affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.” said the FCC in their report, as seen on Bloomberg.
For now, there are still some limitations on how this service will work, the FCC naming it “supplemental coverage from space,”. At this moment having to operate as an extension to an already existing terrestrial provider, which in our case is T-Mobile. This is due to the regulations that exist regarding how you broadcast in space being different from the ones on how you broadcast from or to phones.
With those technological advancements, “no-reception” will become the thing we used to say. This will make the signal available for anyone, regardless of how secluded the area they are in, offering a signal when emergencies occur. No possible price plans have been revealed or a more exact date of when will the connection be available from Starlink and T-Mobile.
By
Daria Dondea
•
November 27, 2024 11:00 AM
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