Washington, Aug. 26, (dpa/GNA) - Mobile phone dead zones could become a thing of the past in the United States if a plan announced by T-Mobile US and SpaceX works out as planned, the two companies said this week.
The plan would link smartphones already on T-Mobile’s network in America to Starlink satellites, SpaceX’s constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit.
“The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone,” said SpaceX chief engineer Elon Musk. “We’re incredibly excited to do this with T-Mobile.”
The service will be available to most remote locations previously unreachable by traditional mobile phone signals. Text coverage will be available practically everywhere in the continental US, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico and territorial waters.
The coverage will be available even outside the signal of T-Mobile’s network, starting with a beta version in select areas by the end of next year after SpaceX’s planned satellite launches.
For the satellite-to-cellular service, the companies will create a new network, broadcast from Starlink’s satellites using T-Mobile’s mid-band spectrum nationwide. Customers need not buy any extra equipment. The smartphones already on T-Mobile’s network will be compatible with the new service using the device’s existing radio.
Initially, text messaging, including SMS, MMS and participating messaging apps, will be available. Afterwards, the companies plan to pursue the addition of voice and data coverage.
According to the companies, more than half a million square miles of the US, as well as vast stretches of ocean are untouched by mobile phone signals from any service providers at present, despite powerful LTE and 5G wireless networks.
These mobile dead zones are difficult to cover with traditional terrestrial cellular technology. People in those areas are either disconnected or pay exorbitant rates to use a satellite phone.
The two companies also issued an open invitation to the world’s carriers to collaborate for global connectivity. T-Mobile would provide reciprocal roaming to those providers working with them.
GNA