2023-10-13 01:00:00
Written by Samah Labib Friday, October 13, 2023 04:00 AM SpaceX has published a new webpage to promote its upcoming Starlink Direct to Cell service, which plans to provide cellular connectivity to existing LTE phones via satellite. The website indicates that the service will initially be limited to text messaging services in 2024, with voice and data functions following in 2025, along with support for Internet of Things devices, according to theverge report. Direct to Cell works with existing LTE phones and no changes to hardware, firmware or proprietary applications are required, providing seamless access to text, voice and data. Elon Musk’s space company announced plans for the service last year alongside US partner T-Mobile. The service is likely to be relatively slow by terrestrial standards, with speeds estimated at between two and four megabits per second, but its benefit will be in expanding coverage. T-Mobile’s press release issued last year says the service will be available “practically everywhere in the continental United States, Hawaii, parts of Alaska and Puerto Rico, and territorial waters, even outside of T-Mobile’s network signal.” Satellite communication has become a growing trend for smartphones in recent years, and Apple added the Emergency SOS feature to its phones last year, which allows iPhone 14 and later to send limited messages and location information via satellite in emergency situations. Meanwhile, AT&T-backed cellular satellite company AST SpaceMobile announced it made its first 5G satellite call from an unmodified smartphone last month.
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