T-MOBILE

Company will provide broadband satellite communications services provided by SpaceX

Mobile operator T-Mobile will provide broadband satellite communications services provided by SpaceX, more precisely, its Starlink global satellite system. Together, the partners will "end mobile dead zones". Starting in late 2023, T-Mobile customers' smartphones will be able to connect directly to upgraded Starlink satellites and will support calling and messaging even if mobile communications in a certain country or across the planet completely go down.

The service will begin in beta "late next year," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. T-Mobile will allocate some of its spectrum for integration with new second-generation Starlink satellites, which will begin orbiting next year, he said. They will be equipped with very large antennas (approximately 25 square meters) and will be able to transmit data directly to cell phones or cell phones.

Users will be able to text, MMS and use a variety of messengers from outlying regions of the 48 states, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and even offshore open waters. Voice functions will open later, according to Space News.

According to Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, even in the event of a natural disaster and shutdown of all cell towers, the service will continue to work.

“It won't have the bandwidth of a Starlink terminal, but it will be enough to send a text, an image or, if there aren't many people in the coverage area, even some video,” he added. “We are no longer going to read the news about tragedies when people get lost and something bad happens to them because they haven’t had the opportunity to ask for help.”

Second-generation satellites are too big for the Falcon-9 rockets that are used to put the earlier version of Starlink vehicles into orbit. To transport them, you need a super-heavy Starship-class ship, Musk explained. If there are problems with its construction, it will be necessary to reduce the size of the satellite and develop "something like the Starlink V2 mini".

More recently, subscriptions to satellite Internet services have dropped in price in at least 13 countries around the world. At the same time, in some regions, for example Brazil and Chile, the subscription has become twice as cheap - now Brazilians and Chileans pay US$45 and US$51 per month, respectively, instead of US$100.

mundophone