Staying connected at festivals without cell phone service is about to get easier, after T-Mobile launched its direct-to-cell satellite messaging service yesterday in partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
In a prime spot during last night’s Super Bowl telecast, the mobile carrier announced that the service, which allows cell phone users to send text-only messages from locations unreached by any company’s earth-bound cell towers, is now available to beta test for free for anyone in the U.S.—whether they’re an existing customer or not.
Though Apple and other companies have previously rolled out satellite messaging, T-Mobile and Starlink’s partnership, according to them, is the first space-based mobile network in the U.S. that connects to your phone automatically, without the need to keep it pointed directly at a satellite zipping above your head at 17,000 mph.
The network uses 450 satellites specially configured with direct-to-cell capabilities that can transmit text messages to and from the over 500,000 square miles of the country’s mobile dead zones, according to a press release.
For now, it only supports text messages in SMS, RCS, and iMessage formats, but T-Mobile says it expects the network to handle larger multimedia messages, like photos and videos, by the end of the beta period in July. When the trial is over, T-Mobile will wrap the satellite service into its most premium Go5G Next plan at no extra charge to those customers.
At that point, T-Mobile customers with other plans have the option to add Starlink for an extra $15/month per line. Those who participated in the beta can add it for $10/month. If you don’t have T-Mobile at all, you can still sign up for $20/month.
For now, however, a limited number of spots are free for anyone in the country. T-Mobile confirmed the network works on more-recent Android and iOS phones, though it hasn’t provided a full list of compatible devices. The number of eligible devices is expected to expand in the coming weeks, according to a press release.
To learn more about T-Mobile’s Starlink coverage or register for the free beta, visit t-mobile.com/coverage/satellite-phone-service.
Featured image courtesy: Pexels.com.
