T-Mobile goes live with beta of satellite phone service for the US

Free text messages for users of its own and rival networks during test period

T-Mobile US has started a public beta of its Direct-to-Cell service using Starlink satellites, offering just text messages for now, with data and voice calls coming later. Access will be free until July – after which it will cost $15 per month.

America's second largest mobile operator confirmed the move with an ad aired during the Super Bowl sports event. The service is intended to help keep people connected in areas of the country beyond the reach of cellphone towers, including customers of the rival Verizon and AT&T networks.

The Direct-to-Cell service works with many existing handsets rather than requiring special hardware, and the operator says that users don't even need to do anything, because when their cellphone goes out of range of a cell tower, the phone will automatically connect to the T-Mobile Starlink network, in a similar way to how roaming works by handing off to another network when you visit a different country.

"T-Mobile Starlink is the first and only space-based mobile network in the US that automatically connects to your phone so you can be connected even where no cellular network reaches. It's a massive technical achievement and an absolute game changer for ALL wireless users," claimed T-Mobile president and CEO Mike Sievert.

He did, however, strike a note of caution: "We're still in the early days - I don't want to overhype the experience during a beta test - but we're officially putting 'no bars' on notice. Dead zones, your days are numbered at the Un-carrier."

The beta phase allows T-Mobile to test the service gradually before launching in July, with the business anticipating that "hundreds of millions of wireless users" will be able to benefit from its coverage.

Users can register for the beta on T-Mobile's website here.

T-Mobile says the beta is free until the official launch, after which the satellite service will be included at no extra cost on the Go5G Next airtime plan (including variations like Go5G Next 55+), otherwise customers on other T-Mobile plans can add the service for $15 per month.

T-Mobile customers who register for the beta during February can get the cost discounted to $10 per month.

The service will also be available at no extra cost for business customers on Go5G Business Next, first responder agencies on T-Priority plans and certain other premium rate plans.

As for customers of the rival Verizon and AT&T networks, access to the beta is free too, but once the service officially launches in July, it will cost them $20 per month.

And before any more irate Reg readers email to berate us, yes we are aware that Apple has offered satellite messaging since the iPhone 14 launched in 2022, but it uses the Globalstar network and a dedicated radio band. Starlink uses T-Mobile's phone spectrum, and therefor works with most recently manufactured smartphones.

UK-based telco Vodafone plans to locally launch a similar service to T-Mobile later this year that aims to serve parts of Europe and will be delivered using AST SpaceMobile's satellite network. ®