U.S wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) will use Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to supply mobile users with network access in parts of america, the businesses announced on Thursday, outlining plans to attach users’ mobile phones on to satellites in orbit.
The brand new plans, which might exist alongside T-mobile’s existing cellular services, would cut out the necessity for cell towers and offer service for sending texts and pictures where cell coverage doesn’t currently exist, key for emergency situations in distant areas, Musk said at a flashy event on Thursday at his company’s south Texas rocket facility.
The brand new plans would cut out the necessity for cell towers and offer service for sending texts and pictures where cell coverage doesn’t currently exist.REUTERS
T-Mobile will use Starlink satellites to supply mobile users with wider network access.Getty Images/ Justin Sullivan
Starlink’s satellites will use T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum to create a latest network. Most phones utilized by the corporate’s customers will likely be compatible with the brand new service, which can start with texting services in a beta phase starting by the top of next 12 months.
SpaceX has launched nearly 3,000 low-Earth-orbiting Starlink satellites since 2019, handily outpacing rivals OneWeb and Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) Project Kuiper.
SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink satellites, the primary of that are planned to launch on SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket each time it’s fully developed, may have larger antennae that can allow connectivity on to mobile phones on the T-mobile network, Musk said.
“We’re constructing special antenna. … They are literally very big antenna which might be extremely advanced,” he said. “The essential thing is you won’t have to get a latest phone. The phone you currently have will work.”
Meanwhile, U.S telecom firms are in a race to accumulate the mid-band portion of their 5G networks to meet up with T-Mobile, which bagged a chunky 2.5 GHz of mid-band spectrum due to a buyout of rival Sprint.
Mid-band or C-Band has proven to be perfect for 5G, because it provides balance of capability and coverage.
The carrier said it goals to pursue voice and data coverage after the texting services beta phase.
Satellite communications firm AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS.O) can also be constructing a world cellular broadband network in space that can operate with mobile devices without the necessity for added hardware.
