After the first six months of beta testing, T-Mobile’s satellite service, powered by Starlink, will be launched on July 23. Although it will only include messaging at launch, the company has ambitious plans to expand the service by the end of the year.
When it launches next month, T-Satellite will be available as an included service with only one T-Mobile plan – Experience Beyond – and will cost $10 per month. Like the beta version of the service, it will be available to all US residents, not just T-Mobile customers.
At launch, T-Satellite will only include SMS on Android and iOS, as well as MMS on Android. T-Mobile says MMS on iOS will be coming “later.” And on October 1, satellite service will get another upgrade: data.
But don’t expect to be able to use all the apps on your phone in the dead zone. The company has several app developers that it “expects” to enable satellite data connectivity, including AllTrails, Accuweather, and WhatsApp. The announcement also mentions Apple and Google as partners, but does not list specific apps from either company.
T-Mobile’s approach to satellite communications is somewhat different from that of its competitors. Verizon and AT&T have partnered with AST SpaceMobile to provide satellite communications to their customers. Earlier this year, the companies demonstrated the ability to make calls from mobile to satellite. Of these, only Verizon has introduced messaging to customers – and it is currently limited to certain Android phones.
Verizon and AT&T have complained to T-Mobile and Starlink’s parent company, SpaceX, claiming that the introduction of satellite communications would hinder their efforts. These complaints do not appear to have slowed down Starlink and T-Mobile.
