At the end of last year, T-Mobile said it was ready to start Beta Testing SpaceX’s Starlink service. It seems that the program is ready to start, where the carrier is expected to announce under the Super Bowl that it has begun to allow users to access satellite service.
As part of the beta, people in the program will be able to send SMS text messages when they are outdoors, even in areas where they usually do not get T-Mobile’s ground-based coverage. The beta service will be free and open to all T-Mobile postpaid users until July, where the carrier also makes it available for free during this period to AT&T and Verizon customers.
In July, the carrier is planning to start charging the service. It will be included as part of T-Mobile’s Priciest Go5G Next Plan and available as an addition to its other plans for $ 15 per Month per month. Line. T-Mobile users who sign up for the service this month will be able to lock a reduced price of $ 10 per day. Month per month. Line as part of an “early adopter” agreement.
AT&T and Verizon users will be able to continue using the service for $ 20 per day. Month per month. Line. These users do not need to switch to T-Mobile to add Starlink service, but need an unlocked compatible device that supports ESIMs.
T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon users who are interested in signing up for Beta can do so on T-Mobile’s website, where the carrier plans to add users to the new service to a first-come, first served rolling base. When it goes through the list, it reaches back with instructions, when users who sign up for the beta are able to participate.
The carrier did not plan to offer satellite coverage to AT&T and Verizon users, but says it was moved to do so after watching Verizon’s latest ad, which contains astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who proclaims satellite texting on its network. The ad has already collected over 8 million views on YouTube.
Clint Patterson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at T-Mobile, CNET says that when it came to supporting rival airlines “Sincerely, this was not part of our original plan for the Super Bowl.”
“When we saw Verizon’s latest ad, which announced something that you can’t do on Verizon’s network, we felt we had to shop.”
T-Mobile says it and Starlink have more than 450 satellites currently in orbit, “providing coverage to 500,000 square miles of terrain that is not inaccessible with terrestrial networks.”
Patterson said T-Mobile has already added “tens of thousands” by users to the beta.
The carrier notes that it has worked with SpaceX and Device Manufacturers to optimize smartphones to connect to the new service, with the goal that as long as you overlook the sky, you must be able to keep in touch.
T-Mobile says it has worked with manufacturers to “secure the vast majority of T-Mobile phones released over the past four years will work with T-Mobile Starlink”, including iPhone 14 and Galaxy S21.
Coverage in emergencies
T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced their partnership back in 2022 and recently used the technology to keep people informed and connected during natural disasters. The two companies previously turned on the service in response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene last year, and this month activated it for people dealing with Los Angeles fires.
In emergencies, the company may be able to make the service available to everyone, regardless of plan, according to Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products on T-Mobile. “In emergencies, you have to put down your competitive guards and realize that there are things that are more important … and that people affected by these tragedies need help,” he said. “So it will always be our guiding principle of these things.”
As part of its implementation in response to the Los Angeles fires, the carrier only opened the Starlink -Support to users with most Android phones and older iPhone models before the iPhone 14 series. Those with an iPhone 14 or newer phone were instead pressed to use Apple’s satellite service that iPhone Maker offers with Globalstar.
With beta and full launch, T-Mobile supports more recovered devices across both Android and iOS. The carrier does not provide a list of compatible devices, but Katz notes that the available phones for the beta “will be the fewest number of eligible units, and literally, as probably weekly, it will expand.”
“All newer devices will be included in it at some point,” Katz said, adding that the carrier will notify customers when their phone is compatible to beta.
T -Mobile -Mobile or another provider.
Start with SMS, data that comes this year
Although T-Mobile and SpaceX’s original Starlink service will focus on SMS, the plan is to add support to voice and data, something that can help the carrier’s offer to stand out from what is collected from device manufacturers.
Patterson said that although the carrier starts with SMS texting in the beta, it plans to offer data services over satellite “later in the year” and voice services, such as calling, in the future.
Apple’s satellite solution allows you to send messages to relief services and with iOS 18 regular iMessages over satellite. Google recently introduced an emergency announcement option in partnership with the provider Skylo for his Pixel 9 series of phones; It’s just for emergency messages.
Apple and Google are currently not charging for their satellite notification services, although both have suggested that they may be adding a fee for the feature down the line.
Katz said that when T-Mobile works through the beta and against a commercial launch, phones will know how to handle conflicts between different satellite services, where the first option is the carrier’s service rather than one from a manufacturer. “The phones are all designed to first search for the transport network and then go to the other,” he said. “And this is an extension of Carrier Network.”
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