Late last year, T-Mobile said it was getting ready to start beta testing SpaceX’s Starlink service. It appears the program is ready for takeoff, with the carrier expected to announce during the Super Bowl that it’s begun letting users access satellite service.
As part of the beta, people in the program will be able to send SMS text messages when they’re outdoors, even in areas where they don’t normally get T-Mobile’s terrestrial coverage. The beta service will be free and open to all T-Mobile postpaid users until July, with the carrier also making it available for free during this time to AT&T and Verizon customers.
In July, the carrier plans to begin charging for the service. It’ll be included as part of T-Mobile’s priciest Go5G Next plan and available as an add-on to its other plans for $15 per month, per line. T-Mobile users signing up for the service this month will be able to lock in a discounted rate of $10 per month, per line as part of an “early adopter” deal.
AT&T and Verizon users will be able to continue using the service for $20 per month, per line. Those users won’t need to switch to T-Mobile to add Starlink service but will need an unlocked compatible device that supports eSIMs.
T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon users interested in signing up for the beta can do so at T-Mobile’s website, with the carrier planning to add users to the new service on a first come, first served rolling basis. As it goes through the list, it’ll reach back out with instructions when users who sign up for the beta are able to join.
The carrier wasn’t planning on offering satellite coverage to AT&T and Verizon users but says it was moved to do so after seeing Verizon’s latest ad that features astronaut Buzz Aldrin touting satellite texting on its network. The ad has already racked up over 8 million views on YouTube.
Clint Patterson, senior vice president of marketing at T-Mobile, tells CNET that when it came to supporting rival carriers “candidly, this was not part of our original plan for the Super Bowl.”
“When we saw Verizon’s latest ad, advertising something that you can’t do on Verizon’s network, we felt like we needed to act.”
T-Mobile says that it and Starlink have more than 450 satellites currently in orbit that “provide coverage to 500,000 square miles of terrain inaccessible by terrestrial networks.”
Patterson said T-Mobile has already added “tens of thousands” of users into the beta.
The carrier notes it’s been working with SpaceX and device manufacturers on optimizing smartphones to be able to connect to the new service, with the goal being that as long as you have a view of the sky, you should be able to stay connected.
T-Mobile says it’s been working with manufacturers to “ensure the vast majority of T-Mobile phones released in the last four years will work with T-Mobile Starlink,” including the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S21.
Coverage in emergencies
T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced their partnership back in 2022 and have more recently used the technology to keep people informed and connected during natural disasters. The two companies previously turned on the service in response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene last year and this month enabled it for people dealing with the Los Angeles fires.
In emergency situations, the company may make the service available to all, regardless of plan, according to Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products at T-Mobile. “In times of emergency, you kind of have to put down your competitive guards and realize that there’s things more important … and that people that are affected by these tragedies need help,” he said. “So that will always be our guiding principle on those things.”
As part of its deployment in response to the Los Angeles fires, the carrier only opened up the Starlink support to users with most Android phones and older iPhone models prior to the iPhone 14 series. Those with an iPhone 14 or newer phone were instead pushed to use Apple’s satellite service, which the iPhone maker offers with Globalstar.
With the beta and full launch, T-Mobile will support more-recent devices across both Android and iOS. The carrier isn’t providing a list of compatible devices, but Katz notes that the phones available for the beta “will be the fewest number of eligible devices, and literally, like probably weekly, it will expand.”
“All newer devices at some point are going to be included in it,” Katz said, adding that the carrier will be notifying customers when their phone is compatible for the beta.
T-Mobile said that as part of the opening of this new beta service, it’ll also be able to use the Starlink constellation to be able to broadcast Wireless Emergency Alerts from government and local officials nationwide to anyone, regardless of whether they have T-Mobile or a different provider.
Starting with texting, data coming this year
Though T-Mobile and SpaceX’s initial Starlink service will focus on texting, the plan is to add support for voice and data, something that could help the carrier’s offering stand out from what’s bundled in from device makers.
Patterson said that though the carrier is starting with SMS texting in the beta, it plans to offer data services over satellite “later this year” and voice services, like calling, in the future.
Apple’s satellite solution allows for sending messages to emergency services and, with iOS 18, regular iMessages over satellite. Google recently introduced an emergency satellite messaging option in partnership with provider Skylo for its Pixel 9 series of phones; it’s just for emergency messages.
Apple and Google currently don’t charge for their satellite messaging services, though both have hinted they may add a fee for the feature down the line.
Katz said that as T-Mobile works through the beta and toward a commercial launch, phones will know how to handle conflicts between differing satellite services, with the first option being the carrier’s service rather than one from a manufacturer. “The phones are all designed to search for the carrier network first and then go to the other one,” he said. “And this is an extension of the carrier network.”
Watch this: Apple vs. Google: Satellite Emergency Features Compared
