SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert stated in a joint T-mobile/SpaceX event that their companies will be working together to kill off cell network dead zones.
Sievert states that they will be launching a new mobile service that will be enabled by Starlink second-generation satellites and T-Mobile bandwidth, they will also be dedicating a slice of their mid-band PCS spectrum to be integrated into Starlink satellites launched next year.
Starlink V2, launching next year, will transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022
When this service launches next year T-Mobile users will be able to use a variety of messaging apps from almost any remote point area in the lower 48 states, such as Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii and even some remote points in the deep ocean.
Sievert also stated that the service will work with voice, T-Mobile plans to include the service within its most popular mobile plans but so far no information has been disclosed about specific pricing.
Musk says that the service wont require you to get a new phone as the mobile plan will be like all existing ones except that it will be coming form second generation Starlink satellites witch will have a very large antennae that will allow it to transmit directly to your cell or mobile phone.
“This won’t have the kind of bandwidth a Starlink terminal will have, but this will enable texting, it will enable images and if there aren’t too many people in the cell zone, you can even potentially have a little bit of video. We will no longer read about these tragedies that happened where people got lost and if only they could have called for help they’d be OK.”
