Starlink Bringing Cell Service to Remote Regions Next Year

Starlink is rolling out its Direct to Cell service starting in 2024, SpaceX announced on its webpage that went up on Tuesday. The new service will use its satellites to provide users with talk, text, and data in remote regions.

The company confirmed on its site that initial coverage will apply to text in 2024, expanding to voice and data the following year. Starlink says it will also combine IoT devices with LTE standards in 2025. According to SpaceX’s site, its aim is to “eliminate dead zones” in remote regions, adding that it hopes to provide “peace of mind when customers need it most.”

SpaceX claims on its site that Direct to Cell will work “with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky,” and doesn’t require downloading special apps or changing the device’s hardware or firmware.

The caveat to SpaceX’s scheduled Direct to Cell launch is it cannot do so before securing clearance from the Federal Communications Commission. SpaceX requested permission from the FCC to launch its service in December of last year, utilizing around 2,000 of its Gen 2 satellites. SpaceX senior regulatory engineer Kyle Wesson wrote in a letter to the FCC that “at full deployment, this hosted payload will enable SpaceX to provide full and continuous coverage of the Earth within +58° to -58° latitude by mid-2024,” Space News reported.

Wesson added that of the 2,000 satellites, approximately 80 to 100 would be used to serve the U.S. and its territories. “The direct-to-cellular services will be available for residential, commercial, institutional, and governmental users in the entire contiguous United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and some of the most remote corridors of Alaska,” he told the FCC.

The latest development in Starlink’s Direct to Cell launch comes more than a year after SpaceX and T-Mobile announced they would work together to bring cell service to unreachable areas. The companies confirmed the collaboration at a live event in August and T-Mobile’s CEO Mike Sievert said in a press release that the mobile service provider and SpaceX share a common goal to reach people in the most remote areas of the world.

“We’ve always thought differently about what it means to keep customers connected, and that’s why we’re working with the best to deliver coverage above and beyond anything customers have ever seen before,” Sievert said. “More than just a groundbreaking alliance, this represents two industry-shaking innovators challenging the old ways of doing things to create something entirely new that will further connect customers and scare competitors.”

Apple is one such competitor, having added an emergency SOS feature to newer iPhones last year, starting with the iPhone 14 and those released after. The feature uses satellites to provide the ability to send location information and limited messages when an emergency arises. Likewise, AT&T’s cellular satellite company AST Space Mobile placed its first 5G satellite call via satellite on Sept. 8, following a series of tests. It was expected to roll out the cellphone-compatible satellite option this year, but due to supply chain issues, production has moved into 2024.