T-Mobile opens Starlink Direct-to-Cell service registration

Today, T-Mobile has opened Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite service beta registration that will enable customers to access Starlink satellite services directly on their devices.

Unlike the Starlink terminal, the Direct to Cell service enables customers to use satellite services without any modifications or software upgrades. You can use the direct-to-cell service for text, voice, and data in the near future.

Direct to cell will help to eliminate dead zones by providing coverage for the 500,000 square miles of land in the US. This satellite group is designed for integration with the T-Mobile terrestrial network. For example, users won’t need to hold their phone up to search for a signal.

The new service will enable T-Mobile to expand mobile connectivity in the continental US, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and territorial waters and outside T-Mobile’s terrestrial cellular network.

T-Mobile Starlink (Credit – T-Mobile)

Registration is open and available to anyone interested in staying up-to-date or trying the T-Mobile terrestrial network. The T-Mobile Starlink beta is open and free for all T-Mobile postpaid voice customers with a compatible device.

The company will prioritize businesses and first responders in this registration to gain beta access early next year.

Prior to this announcement, T-Mobile and Starlink teams worked together and gained temporary access to provide communication services to reach emergency responders during Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

SpaceX currently has more than 300 direct-to-cell satellites in orbit and it continues to grow this constellation. With full deployment, T-Mobile and Starlink are aiming to cover more than a million square miles across the US and ocean.

(source)