SpaceX Now Has Over 100 Starlink Satellites In Orbit With Direct To Cell Capabilities: T-Mobile Users To Gain Access Later This Year

After a successful Starlink mission launch on Wednesday, Elon Musk‘s SpaceX currently has over 100 Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit with Direct to Cell capabilities.

What Happened: On Wednesday, SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites, 13 of which have Direct to Cell capabilities, raising the total number of such satellites in orbit to over 100.

Each of these satellites features a modem functioning as a cell tower in space, aiming to provide users with global access to texting, calling, and internet browsing using standard LTE phones, without requiring additional hardware, software, or apps.

“With over 100 Direct to Cell satellites now launched, and 100s more planned to be launched this year, excited to provide ubiquitous connectivity to our customers starting with T-Mobile in the US this year!” Sara Spangelo, Senior Director of Satellite Engineering at SpaceX, said.

Why It Matters: T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership in August 2022 aiming to connect the smartphones on T-Mobile’s network to Starlink satellites. The partnership is aimed at providing connectivity to remote locations that are untouched by cell signals from any provider.

Other cellular providers to have signed similar partnerships with SpaceX include Optus from Australia, Rogers from Canada, and KDDI in Japan.

SpaceX plans to roll out texting services with the help of the satellites by the end of 2024, followed by voice calls, data, and internet-of-things (IoT) services in 2025.

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