T-Mobile customers in rural areas outside the company’s normal coverage zones could soon be receiving limited cell service directly from space thanks to a Federal Communications Commission ruling granting SpaceX authority to link its satellites with devices on the ground.
SpaceX had previously received temporary approval to provide what is known as direct-to-cell coverage to the areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton earlier this year. In its approval of the company’s request for permission to operate the service more broadly, the FCC wrote that direct-to-cell “will yield many benefits, including an increase in access to emergency services in areas where consumers would otherwise not have the capability to access a terrestrial network to call or text 911.”
PCMag previously reported that SpaceX claimed “in just one day” its satellites provided text messaging capabilities to more than 27,000 phones in areas affected by the two hurricanes.
T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced their plans for a joint direct-to-cell program in 2022. The mobile carrier noted in a press release that “despite powerful LTE and 5G wireless networks, well over half a million square miles of the U.S. in addition to vast stretches of ocean are untouched by cell signals.”
SpaceX began launching satellites capable of communicating directly with cell phones in January of this year. Elon Musk, the company’s owner, noted that the reception the satellites could provide would not be competitive with normal cell service in areas with fully developed communications infrastructure but would be a “great solution for locations with no cellular connectivity.”
So far, SpaceX has launched more than 300 satellites capable of providing direct-to-cell service into orbit, according to PCMag. The FCC has authorized the company to launch as many as 7,500 of the satellites.
While the initial timeline T-Mobile and SpaceX put forward for their partnership has been pushed back since its announcement, SpaceX’s direct-to-cell website says it plans to begin providing text messaging services via satellite this year, followed by voice, data, and internet-of-things capabilities in 2025.
SpaceX is also working with providers in other countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Chile, and Peru.
The FCC’s approval of SpaceX’s direct-to-cell satellite operations is conditional on the company working with other satellite operators and astronomical organizations in order to ensure the satellites don’t interfere with their communications. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory announced in August that it was collaborating with SpaceX to mitigate the negative effects of the company’s satellite fleet on land-based astronomy equipment.
)
English (US) ·