White spots: Telekom cooperates with Starlink
With Starlink Mobile, Telekom plans to close gaps in mobile coverage in ten European countries in the future – including Germany.
Stephanie Bednarek (Starlink) and Abdu Mudesir (Telekom) announce the partnership of their companies in Barcelona.
(Image: Deutsche Telekom/Screenshot/heise medien)
Deutsche Telekom is closing its network coverage gaps across Europe with the help of Elon Musk's Starlink. The companies announced a partnership on Monday at the mobile communications trade fair MWC in Barcelona. Thanks to satellite communication, suitable smartphones will be able to maintain a connection even in classic dead zones in the future. The services are expected to be available from 2028.
"We want to ensure reliable connectivity for our customers there too," said CTO Abdu Mudesir at midday on Monday in Barcelona. "That's why we are strategically supplementing our network with satellite-to-mobile connectivity."
Supplement, not replace
Starlink's satellite connection is intended to supplement existing mobile coverage where the terrestrial mobile network is not available. The service will be operated exclusively in Starlink's MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) spectrum, Telekom explains. With suitable smartphones, "access to data, video, voice, and messaging services" will be possible.
Some high-end smartphones on the market can already transmit text messages via satellite. By the planned launch of the service in early 2028, the selection of compatible devices is expected to grow steadily, according to Telekom.
"We are very pleased to provide satellite-to-mobile connectivity for Telekom in ten countries with around 140 million customers," said Starlink manager Stephanie Bednarek in Barcelona. Starlink will provide Telekom with mobile services on its next-generation (V2) satellite constellation.
"Starlink Mobile" coming in 2027
The company is currently expanding its "Starlink Mobile" platform with great effort. "The second-generation constellation will provide broadband for hundreds of millions of unmodified mobile phones once we have deployed it," said Starlink Vice President Michael Nicolls on Monday morning in Barcelona.
Spectrum in the S-band at 2 GHz will be used, which Starlink acquired from EchoStar. The company is working with manufacturers of modem technology and end devices to ensure compatibility. "Starlink Mobile" is scheduled to be ready for use by mid-2027.
The partnership between Deutsche Telekom and Starlink for the European networks follows a beta test at the US subsidiary T-Mobile. Customers of the North American Telekom subsidiary were already able to send text messages via satellite connections.
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Future market Satellite-to-Mobile
The Satellite-to-Mobile segment is considered a lucrative additional business for satellite operators. It offers terrestrial network operators an opportunity to develop remote regions without great effort. Satellite operators are keen to be seen as service providers rather than competitors to mobile operators.
Also in Barcelona, the official launch of Satellite Connect Europe took place on Monday morning. The joint venture between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile positions itself as a European alternative to the US provider Starlink.
(vbr)
