SpaceX is preparing to begin testing its satellite-to-cellular service after announcing its joint initiative with T-Mobile last year. At the Satellite Conference and Exhibition 2023, SpaceX VP of Starlink enterprise sales, Jonathan Hofeller said that the company plans to “start getting into testing” its satellite-to-cell service this year. Hofeller didn’t disclose the Telco the company is working with, but it is speculated to be T-Mobile. Elon Musk had promised that the Starlink V2 would launch in 2023 and would “transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide.”
T-Mobile said the service would give the carrier “near complete coverage” of most of the United States, particularly highlighting areas that are difficult to find a signal. The panel expressed optimism about the future of satellite-to-cell technology. Lynk Global CEO Charles Miller said that satellite cellular service has the potential to be the “biggest category in satellite,” while Iridium CEO Matt Desch sees cellular satellite service as the beginning, connecting everything everywhere.
