T-Mobile US: Satellite connection for normal smartphones – Provider doesn't care
T-Mobile US now offers its own customers and those of other providers the option of booking a satellite connection to Starlink for dead spots.
(Image: T-Mobile US)
Customers of T-Mobile US and other providers in the USA can now book the option to send and receive messages via Starlink satellites using their conventional smartphone in remote areas. This has now been announced by the head of the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary. The months-long beta test of the offer has thus come to an end. Anyone who does not have a contract for 100 US dollars or more per month with T-Mobile will have to pay an extra 15 US dollars per month for “T-Satellite” – for the launch, which is initially only 10 US dollars. In return, you can send and receive text messages, share your location, make emergency calls, and even send photos and voice messages via Google Messages in areas without mobile coverage.
No more dead spots
As T-Mobile explains on the page for the additional offer, this is based on more than 650 Starlink satellites from the US space company SpaceX. If your smartphone is unable to establish contact with a cell tower in a remote region, it will automatically contact one of these satellites if the option is booked. This works with over 60 different models throughout the continental USA, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and parts of Alaska. This requires as clear a view of the sky as possible. In the future, it will also be possible to send images and voice messages via other services, and mobile internet connections are also planned.
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Starlink has been under construction by SpaceX for years. Until now, special antennas have been needed to establish contact with the satellites. Since the beginning of 2024, however, more advanced satellites have been launched into space that enable smartphones to be connected directly. However, the conditions are not equally good everywhere: in Central Europe, for example, with its many small territorial states, the different country-specific radio regulations are an obstacle. This is why Deutsche Telekom, for example, is focusing on alternatives. The situation is different in Ukraine, for example, where the provider Kyivstar is planning a similar offer for this year. T-Mobile US began its beta test in February.
(mho)
