According to a Thursday announcement from the firms, T-Mobile US Inc. will offer consumers cellular coverage via SpaceX Corp.’s Starlink satellite network.
The service will begin to be offered by T-Mobile the following year. With voice and data service to be introduced later, the carrier will initially only allow text message transmission through Starlink. In the future, T-Mobile and SpaceX anticipate that users of the carrier will have access to satellite connectivity “practically everywhere” in the continental United States, Hawaii, some areas of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and territorial waters.
After partnering with Google LLC’s cloud division to offer businesses satellite-powered internet connectivity, SpaceX now has a collaboration with T-Mobile. Prior to this, the business and Microsoft Corp. signed a similar satellite agreement that also targets the enterprise market.