T-Mobile's Starlink satellite service launches on July 23
T-Mobile's satellite service, or simply called T-Satellite, with Starlink will be available across the US starting on July 23, even to customers of other carriers. The company said the service can cover 500,000 square miles of area that traditional carriers can't reach, which are mostly remote locations far from cell towers. T-Satellite will support texting for both Android and iOS devices at launch. Android owners will also be able to send MMS, images and short audio clips from the start, while support for iOS devices will follow. On October 1, T-Mobile will enable a data-based satellite service.
Starlink has already 657 direct-to-cell satellites in orbit that can provide coverage for T-Satellite customers. The carrier has been testing the service for a while now, enabling it for use during emergencies in the past, such as when Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida in 2024. In February, T-Mobile launched the beta version of the service's texting feature, which will continue to be free until July when the full service becomes available.
The carrier says the beta program has been "incredibly successful" and has 1.8 million users who've sent out over a million text messages from "areas unreachable by any terrestrial provider," including national parks. In addition, the number of messages received by users was three times the number of messages received, demonstrating that they were connected to the service even while they weren't really using it.
T-Satellite will work with select apps optimized for satellite data to start with, including AccuWeather, AllTrails, Google, WhatsApp, X and more. T-Mobile's Experience Beyond subscribers will be able to access the service for free. Everyone else, including AT&T and Verizon subscribers, can pay $10 a month for access. T-Satellite will also roll out free 911 texts even to non-subscribers and regardless of the carrier later this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/t-mobiles-starlink-satellite-service-launches-on-july-23-120050567.html?src=rss