Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is now ready to provide satellite mobile phone service from space to Earth.
Yes, SpaceX’s division Starlink will take smartphone connectivity to a new level.
Through the satellite service Direct to Cell, users can make calls from any corner of the earth from iPhones and Android smartphones.
The special thing about this service is that no changes will be required in the smartphones, but only LTE support will be enough.
This service will change mobile connections, or at least that’s what the company believes. You will be able to make calls even from areas of the earth where mobile phones are not currently available.
Through this satellite service, you can contact your friends or loved ones from anywhere, whether in the desert, the ocean, or deep in a forest. Modems are installed in the satellites to help them act like mobile towers, beaming phone signals directly to smartphones from space.
On which smartphones will this service work?
In a letter sent by SpaceX to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it was stated that this service was tested on phones from major smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and Google and the service was successful.
The tests confirmed that using the PCSG block spectrum does not disrupt connections.
According to SpaceX, this technology can work on any smartphone with LTE support. Satellite connectivity will be possible even in some older models like the iPhone 14. By the way, iPhones still have satellite connectivity, but it is limited to preset messages in emergencies.
However, Starlink’s service will allow users to type complete messages themselves and send them, thus helping people save lives in emergencies.
Starlink has planned to launch this new satellite service as a commercial package, the pricing details of which have not yet been released.
Where will it be available first?
Starlink has signed agreements with 8 countries, including the United States, Japan, Ukraine, and New Zealand, to introduce this service.
Ukraine will be one of the first countries where this service will be introduced.
For this, Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar has signed an agreement with Starlink to introduce a direct-to-cell satellite service.
The service is expected to be operational in Ukraine in the last quarter of 2025.
Initially, the service will only offer messaging, and will later expand to include voice and data services.
The service will also be tested in the US with a leading mobile operator in early 2025.
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