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The open beta testing phase will allow customers from AT&T and Verizon to also trial the satellite service
In a Superbowl commercial last weekend, T-Mobile announced the launch of T-Mobile Starlink, a new satellite-based service that aims to eliminate mobile dead zones in remote areas of the US.
The service uses SpaceX’s low Earth orbit (LEO) Starlink satellites to provide coverage to areas that terrestrial infrastructure currently does not reach, ensuring US customers have access to connectivity whenever they can see the sky, using their normal smartphone.
For now, the service is limited to text messaging, with voice and data services to be added in future.
Private beta testing for selected T-Mobile customers has been underway since December, with this week seeing the service offered to the wider public for the first time.
The service is now in its public beta phase, meaning the second phase of software testing, where a sample of the intended audience tries out a product or service.
“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,” said Mike Sievert, President and CEO, T-Mobile.
When Sievert talks about ‘ALL wireless users’ here, he is not being hyperbolic – the service is now being offered to AT&T and Verizon customers alongside T-Mobile’s own subscribers.
The service will be free for all users until the service’s commercial launch in July this year, after which users will have the option to access Starlink’s direct-to-device services for an additional fee ($15 per month for T-Mobile customers and $20 per month for AT&T/Verizon customers).
T-Mobile’s Go5G Next and Go5G Business Next customers will receive the service at no additional cost.
“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.”
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