T-Mobile and SpaceX Starlink say your 5G cellphone will connect with satellites subsequent yr

T-Mobile says it’s eliminating cellular lifeless zones because of a brand new partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web, at an event hosted by T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Elon Musk.

According to Musk, second-generation Starlink satellites launching subsequent yr will be capable of broadcast service utilizing a part of T-Mobile’s mid-band 5G spectrum. The firm says it’ll allow you to textual content, ship MMS messages, and even use “messaging apps” each time you may have a transparent view of the sky, even when there’s no conventional service obtainable. “If there aren’t too many people in the cell zone, you may potentially even have a little bit of video,” stated Musk.

The service will launch in beta subsequent yr, and Sievert says he hopes it should sometime embody knowledge. He says that when it launches, T-Mobile’s “vision” is for it to be included without spending a dime within the provider’s “most popular plans,” although he did say that right now’s occasion isn’t an official announcement.

T-Mobile says that subscribers’ present telephones will be capable of make the most of the community — no particular gear required. While rumors have been circulating that future iPhones will embody satellite tv for pc communications, doubtlessly for emergency response functions, that’s not the sort of tech T-Mobile is banking on right here.

Earlier this yr, SpaceX misplaced a bid for rural web subsidies due to the price of its gear. But if it will probably piggy-back off T-Mobile’s current gear, which individuals in rural areas might already personal, that might assist its case with the Federal Communications Commission. The presentation on Thursday definitely hit on the concept of rural protection, with movies of individuals in distant parks, the mountains, or herding animals.

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