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Satellite to cell services are taking shape, with Apple, T-Mobile and SpaceX furthest along
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AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have now signed a long-term agreement
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Verizon is slightly further behind in its project with Amazon
Imagine you’re hiking in the wilderness with no cell phone service, no data downloads, no nothing. Yet the satellites orbiting above your head can allow you to stay in text message contact with friends, family — and the rescue team you’ll inevitably need to contact as the cruel night draws in.
That’s the coming-true dream of Apple, T-Mobile, AT&T and others — to provide a layer of satellite-based connection where normal terrestrial cell phone networks can’t reach.
T-Mobile is working with SpaceX and first announced the project in August 2022. AT&T has been collaborating with startup AST Space Mobile since 2018. "We're excited to go live with T-Mobile later this year," the firm said in an X (formerly Twitter) post this week.
SpaceX launched 13 second generation Starlink satellites with direct to cell capabilities into low earth orbit (LEO) last week at around 342 miles (550 kilometers) above the planet. Space X initially launched its first six of its direct to cell satellites in January of this year and said it will rapidly launch a constellation of hundreds of satellites to enable the stellar cellular service.
The satellites will be able to connect to ordinary 4G LTE phones on the ground, according to SpaceX. T-Mobile has said that the SpaceX LEO satellites will use its 1900 MHz spectrum, which means that the service will work across many of its 4G and 5G phones
SpaceX said in January that it had sent the first text messages across T-Mobile’s network. It has said that it will be able to send and receive text messages direct to phones this year and get voice calls and data transmissions in 2025.
SpaceX has also said that it is also working with other operators around the world on direct to cell service. This includes Australian operator Optus, KDDI in Japan and Rogers in Canada.
Although SpaceX is the premier satellite name in the space communications game, it is not the only player. AT&T is instead using startup’s AST SpaceMobile’s LEO satellites. AT&T said last week that they had revved up their deal with AST SpaceMobile and signed a definite commercial agreement until 2030.
AST SpaceMobile has already launched two of its large — 45 feet by 45 feet — satellites. In addition, it has already put up $5 million to fund its first five commercial satellites. The CEO told us at Mobile World Congress this year that it takes around 60 satellites to provide continuous service in the U.S. He said that continued service would start after AST SpaceMobile had launched enough units sometime late in 2024 or in 2025.
Although AST SpaceMobile has said that the system will work with any phone, AT&T has still dedicated a portion of its 800 MHz spectrum to the service. The system works with the AST satellite picking up the signal from a mobile phone and bouncing it back to a gateway, which links to AT&T. To cover a country like the U.S. you would need three gateways, the CEO told us.
Other U.S. rivals
In addition to the above, Apple launched its “Emergency SOS via Satellite” service with Globalstar when it unveiled the iPhone 14 in September 2022. The service, Apple said, allows users of the latest iPhones to alert emergency services with a text message if they are stuck in an area with no cellular coverage.
Apple will pump up Globalstar’s LEO satellite constellation with millions in funding, the company said it will spend $450 million with U.S. companies, the majority of which will go to its satellite partner. The funds will pay for satellites, ground station equipment and a new kind of antenna designed by Apple.
Verizon has said it will use Amazon’s planned Project Kuiper LEO satellite network to provide 4G and 5G service from space for its users. Much like AST SpaceMobile, Amazon has only launched two prototype satellites so far.
Amazon plans to light up the night sky with over-bright 3,000 LEO satellites that will illuminate the dark. The LEO swarms will blot out details of the stellar sky scape as a consequence of enabling us to use our phones any time and any place. So long, Big Dipper? We hope not.