T-Mobile's direct-to-cell satellite messaging service powered by Starlink is now available for free trial by anyone in the United States, including those who are not T-Mobile customers. The service will initially be limited to text messaging, but the company hopes to have some apps and even limited multimedia support ready when it goes live this summer.
After the free trial period ends in July, T-Mobile users will have to pay $15 per month, with a discounted price of $10 per month for those participating in the beta trial. Verizon and AT&T users can also try the service for free.
And according to a press release from T-Mobile, it will cost $20 per month per line. T-Mobile customers who buy the carrier's most expensive Go5GNext plan, which starts at $105 per month, will get the Starlink feature for free.
If you watched last night's Super Bowl, you might have been misled by T-Mobile's commercial. While the ad shows off satellite-powered voice and multimedia text messaging capabilities, the public beta currently only includes text messaging in dead zone areas. Support for picture messaging, data and voice calls is "coming later".
Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy and product, told The Washington Post that messages containing photos or video clips will be added by the end of the test period in July. Katz also hopes the satellite service will work with apps that "don't require a super-fast data connection," such as certain routing/mapping services and WhatsApp.
"We will work with some application developers to create features in their apps that can optimize the bandwidth available on satellite networks," Katz said.
Registration for the free beta began in December after T-Mobile and Starlink tested emergency alerts and text messages delivered directly to mobile phones in disaster zones last year. T-Mobile said it would accept registrations on a "rolling first-come, first-served basis," but quietly revealed in the details that "numbers are limited." T-Mobile lists currently compatible Apple, Google, Motorola, Samsung and REVVL devices on its website, and according to T-Mobile, the Starlink-enabled service works with "most smartphones from the past four years."
SpaceX is working with operators around the world to provide direct-to-cellular Starlink service. In December, the service was launched nationwide in New Zealand. ASTSpaceMobile partners with Verizon and AT&T to provide satellite-to-cellular service and recently received regulatory approval to begin testing.