Top Line
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the first of its Starlink satellites to provide cellular service everywhere in the world, the company announced on Wednesday. The billionaire cautioned that the breakthrough can’t compete with terrestrial networks, but it will help fill cellular dead zones and improve global mobile connectivity.
Elon Musk’s Starlink is building a constellation of satellites.
Getty Images
Key Facts
SpaceX said six of the 21 Starlink satellites launched on Tuesday will have direct cell phone connectivity.
These are Starlink’s first direct-cell phone satellites and are designed to act as “cell towers in space,” according to the company’s website.
SpaceX said the satellites will initially be used to test direct-to-cell services in the United States, where the company has a partnership with T-Mobile.
Once activated, the service will connect to any regular, unmodified mobile phone that is 4G LTE-enabled without the need for additional equipment. T-Mobile says the standard will cover “the vast majority of smartphones” already connected to its network in 2022.
Starlink said it plans to launch a text messaging service using the technology later this year, followed by broader voice, data and IoT (a network of connected devices known as the internet of things) services in 2025.
Important Quotes
Celebrating the successful launch, Musk said the satellites will “bring cellular connectivity to anywhere on Earth.” But he noted the technology has limitations. “They’re a great solution for places where there’s no cellular connectivity, but they’re not effectively competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks,” Musk said, pointing to relatively limited bandwidth spread over large areas. Starlink also noted that the satellites will allow users to connect “wherever there’s a view of the sky.”
Points to note
Starlink plans to eventually roll out direct-to-cell services to network customers around the world, and customers will be able to “Seamless connectionThe company has already announced partnerships with carriers around the world, including T-Mobile in the U.S., Optus in Australia, Rogers in Canada, OneNZ in New Zealand, KDDI in Japan, Salt in Switzerland, and Entel in Chile and Peru. It’s unclear when these services will launch or what the details about connectivity will be, both domestically and internationally.
Main Background
Wireless technology has revolutionized the way we communicate, but it also has limitations, and even developed countries have areas with poor signal quality or no signal at all. These are called signal dead zones. The problem can be especially acute in remote areas or places where poor terrain makes it difficult for a signal to reach. Starlink, which wants to provide high-speed internet service anywhere in the world, is already using satellites to connect citizens in war-torn Ukraine, and hopes to eliminate dead zones by transmitting signals from space.
Forbes Rating
$251.3 billion. That’s how much Forbes magazine estimates Musk’s net worth is. He’s the richest person in the world, about $60 billion more than the world’s second richest person, French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault. His wealth comes mostly from a series of companies he co-founded and runs, including electric car maker Tesla, SpaceX (which runs Starlink), brain implant company Neuralink, and tunnel-drilling company The Boring Company. Musk also runs the ambitious all-purpose app X, which he bought as Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion.
Big numbers
42,000 is the number Musk has said he wants for his Starlink constellation, and the company is reportedly working toward a constellation of 12,000, with launch data reports showing that more than 5,000 will already be in orbit by the end of 2023.
References
SpaceX gets US approval to test direct cell phone calls via Starlink (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s Twitter rebranding sets the stage for any app “X” to succeed, experts say – here’s how (Forbes)
