SpaceX has successfully sent and received text messages via T-Mobile using its cutting-edge D2D (direct-to-device) Starlink satellites.
Engadget tells us that these satellites, launched just over a week ago, represent a significant step toward providing satellite internet connectivity to regular cell phones, ensuring that users remain connected even in terrestrial dead zones.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink 4-20 mission, launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on September 4, 2022.
Starlink, T-Mobile Send Text Messages from Sattelites
The ambitious project, first announced in August 2022, aims to revolutionize satellite communication by allowing T-Mobile customers to seamlessly access internet services, bridging connectivity gaps in remote areas.
T-Mobile intends to launch text messaging services publicly this year, followed by voice, data, and IoT (Internet of Things) plans in 2025. SpaceX has formed global alliances with key telecom operators such as Rogers in Canada, Optus in Australia, KDDI in Japan, and others.
Elon Musk's idea for SpaceX involves deploying larger, specialized Starlink satellites with D2D capability. The first six of these satellites were launched on Jan. 2, and the company achieved a historic milestone within six days by sending and receiving text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground using the T-Mobile network spectrum.
The Direct to Cell network, part of Starlink's larger vision, aims to provide ubiquitous connectivity, beginning with text services this year and eventually expanding to voice, data, and IoT services by 2025. However, the road to accomplishing this feat took some work.
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Cellular Tower in the Sky
Connecting cell phones to satellites orbiting tens of thousands of miles per hour presented challenges such as seamless satellite handoffs, Doppler shift, timing delays, and smartphones' relatively low transmission power.
SpaceX addressed these issues by developing custom silicon, phased array antennas, and advanced software algorithms that allow standard LTE service to be delivered to cell phones on the ground.
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert compared the technology to "putting a cellular tower in the sky," expressing hope that it will eliminate dead zones even in remote locations such as the middle of the ocean.
However, due to the constant movement of satellites and the need for smooth data handoffs, the system's complexity exceeds that of traditional cell towers.
Opposition
SpaceX and T-Mobile are not the first companies to investigate such systems. AT&T and communications specialist AST SpaceMobile successfully conducted the first two-way satellite audio call in April.
However, AT&T expressed concerns to the FCC about SpaceX and T-Mobile's plans, calling them "woefully insufficient" regarding the risk of harmful interference to ground-based networks.
Direct to Cell technology from SpaceX addresses issues such as transmitting sufficiently strong radio signals to and from cell phones that are not designed for satellite connectivity.
Custom silicon onboard the satellites, large advanced phased arrays, and an advanced LTE modem onboard each satellite, effectively operating like a cell tower in space, are all part of the company's innovative approach.
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