Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and Mike Sievert, the CEO of T-Mobile, declared that their organisations are working to “end mobile dead zones” and that they would introduce a new mobile service that will be supported by Starlink second-generation satellites and T-Mobile bandwidth.
In order to provide high-speed internet in rural areas of the world, SpaceX launched a network of satellites called Starlink into low Earth orbit. More than 2,700 satellites have been launched by SpaceX to support this network.
Sievert said T-Mobile will dedicate a “slice of its mid-band PCS spectrum” to be integrated into Starlink satellites launched next year while speaking at the SpaceX site in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday night.
From remote locations in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and even certain remote locations on the water, T-Mobile customers will be able to use texting, MMS, and specific messaging apps.
According to Sievert, the service will eventually support voice. T-Cell did not provide particular pricing but intends to include the service in its most well-liked mobile plans.
Starlink’s second generation satellites, which have very large antennae and can broadcast directly to a cell or mobile phone, would be used to operate the service, according to Musk.
Mobile users won’t need to buy new phones in order to enjoy the service. Even if all the cell towers are destroyed during or after a natural disaster, according to Musk, the intended service should still function.
“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,” Musk said. “We will no longer read about these tragedies that happened where people got lost an if only they could have called for help they’d be ok,” he continued.
In addition, T-Mobile will provide “reciprocal roaming” so that foreign visitors to the US can utilise the service if they also collaborate with SpaceX to make it available internationally. Carriers from other countries were asked to join Musk and Sievert’s partnership.
On Thursday, T-stock Mobile’s gained one point to close at $147.07, and after-hours trends indicated a modest increase.
In a note on the market this week, Morgan Stanley analysts stated that they thought T-Mobile was the best option among telecom services and that they “expect T-Mobile to continue to take share, driving superior top- and bottom-line growth, with the buyback likely to commence soon.”