EspaceX completed its first constellation of Starlink satellites directly to the cell this week. On Wednesday, the company launched 20 satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket13 of which can communicate directly with cell phones without additional equipment.
The completed constellation follows FCC approval of an agreement between SpaceX and T-Mobile last week. Businesses announced the partnership in 2022, touting plans for a future in which phones can be connected to the world, even in the middle of the ocean. EspaceX said the satellite constellation acts “like a mobile phone tower in space, enabling network integration similar to that of a standard roaming partner.”
Thursday, SpaceX job on The company sent and received their first SMS via T-Mobile's network earlier this year.
The low Earth orbit constellation has 6,799 operational satellites, and Espace.com reports that around 330 people can communicate directly with cell phones. On Thursday, Elon Musk said unmodified cell phones would get about 10 Mbps of bandwidth per beam. He said future constellations will be capable of much greater throughput.
Companies will likely provide more details to consumers once Starlink Direct to Cell becomes available. It is currently target for next year. However, the constellation is not just limited to T-Mobile. Android Center reports that SpaceX senior director Ben Longmier said shortly after deployment that the satellites were “open for business for every telecommunications company in the world.”
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Telecommunication,Technology & Electronics,Consumer Discretionary,site|engadget,provider_name|Engadget,region|US,language|en-US,author_name|Will Shanklin ,
