SpaceX vice President of Starlink enterprise sales, Jonathan Hofeller has disclosed that the company is set to test its satellite-to-cellular service in 2023.
Elon Musk and Mike Sievert, the CEO of T-Mobile, jointly launched “Coverage Above and Beyond” last summer with the goal of bringing Starlink satellite coverage to T-Mobile handsets. Currently, SpaceX is preparing to launch its satellite-to-cellular service’s testing phase.
The comment was made at the Satellite Conference and Exhibition 2023 and first reported by CNBC journalist, Michael Sheetz. The satellite internet constellation company can provide broadband Internet customers connected to its proprietary dish antennas.
SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, declared a partnership with T-Mobile in August 2022, enabling its network to supplement the US mobile carrier’s coverage in areas without tower signals. With the arrival of the first phones with purpose-made satellite modems expected in the coming years, T-Mobile expects to forfeit this requirement by enabling it to dominate on some of its licensed spectra.
Hofeller quoted him as saying that the business sought to expand Starlink’s satellite-to-cellular capabilities beyond enhancing terrestrial tower coverage and thought its constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites was best suited to do that. He remains positive that SpaceX still has much to learn about this capability’s potential.
“We’re definitely wrong; we just don’t know how wrong we are,” said Hofeller in reference to the feasibility of using Starlink for satellite-to-cellular communication.
“We’re going to learn a lot by doing — not necessarily by overanalysing — and getting out there, working with the telcos.” he added.
Read More; Is Starlink way too pricey?
Can Starlink satellite fill coverage gaps?
SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite internet constellation, which provides satellite Internet access to 50 countries. It also intends to provide global mobile phone service by 2023. In 2019, SpaceX began launching its satellites.
Other traditional land-based telecom companies like Vodacom and Verizon are addressing the solutions with satellite companies they deem capable of filling their coverage gaps. Also, the goal is to offer access to customers in remote or difficult-to-reach places where extending a tower network is challenging economically.
Hofeller’s timeline aligns with Musk’s original vision for the T-Mobile partnership. He promised in August that Starlink V2 would launch in 2023 and “transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide.”
In recent years, telecom service providers and phone manufacturers have become increasingly interested in satellite-based mobile phone communication. In an emergency with no terrestrial cellular service, Apple already allows iPhone 14 users to send simple text messages through satellite. While Exymos 5300, Samsung’s first satellite modem for smartphones, was recently introduced, it is predicted to be used in the next top Galaxy devices.
Read More; How to get Elon Musk’s Starlink internet from Nigeria in 2023
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