SpaceX launches Starlink satellites with smartphone connectivity
SpaceX's latest technology is changing the world (photo: Getty Images)
SpaceX has launched the first Starlink satellites with the Direct to Cell feature, which allows direct connection to smartphones.
Sources used: SpaceX's account on X, Starlink's official website, and Elon Musk's account on X.
The launch of new satellites
The American aerospace private enterprise SpaceX has announced the launch of the first six Starlink satellites with direct connection to mobile phones.
Starlink satellites (photo: twitter.com/SpaceX)
The new satellites with the Direct to Cell:
- will contribute to the global development of communication
- will help to eliminate the so-called dead zones on the planet (where there is currently no connection)
The company's official announcement (screenshot: twitter.com/SpaceX)
These (and many other) Starlinks were launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Falcon 9 launches 21 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California, including six with Direct to Cell capabilities https://t.co/FgiJ7LOYdK pic.twitter.com/IKBkTSB63C
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 3, 2024
Providers to work with the new technology
According to SpaceX, the first providers to use Direct to Cell for global access will be
- Germany's T-Mobile
- Canadian Rogers Communications Inc.
- Japanese KDDI Corporation
- Australian Singtel Optus Pty Limited
- New Zealand One New Zealand Group Limited
- Swiss Salt Mobile SA
- Chilean Entel
List of providers (screenshot: twitter.com/SpaceX)
Changes for users
According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the launch of these satellites will allow smartphone users to connect anywhere in the world.
At the same time, he notes that "this only supports ~7Mb per beam and the".
"So while this is a great solution for locations with no cellular connectivity, it is not meaningfully competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks," he adds.
Elon Musk's comment (screenshot: twitter.com/elonmusk)
According to the official Starlink website, the new Direct to Cell satellites will provide full access to text messages, calls, and web browsing wherever the user is - on land or in coastal waters. The main thing is that the sky is visible.
Direct to Cell will also connect IoT devices with common standards of the mobile transmission protocol - LTE.
The new technology does not require any hardware upgrades or downloads of special programs.
Users will be able to send text messages as early as 2024, and the new technology will support voice calls and web browsing from 2025.
Potential opportunities of the new technology (screenshot: direct.starlink.com)
