SpaceX is preparing to put its Starlink satellite-to-cell phone service through its paces

“Coverage Above and Beyond,” a partnership between Elon Musk and Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile, aimed to make Starlink satellite coverage compatible with T-Mobile devices last summer. SpaceX is now getting ready to start putting its satellite-to-cellular service through its paces.

SpaceX VP of Starlink enterprise sales Jonathan Hofeller stated on a panel at the Satellite Conference and Exhibition 2023 that the company intended to “start getting into testing” its satellite-to-cell service this year. “We’re going to learn a lot by doing — not necessarily by overanalyzing — and getting out there, working with the telcos.”

Although Hofeller did not specify which telecommunications company SpaceX was working with, the timetable matches Musk’s original plan for the T-Mobile partnership. He stated in August that Starlink V2 would “transmit direct to mobile phones, eliminating dead zones worldwide” and would go live in 2023. At the time T-Portable said the help would give the transporter “near complete coverage” of the vast majority of the US, specifically featuring regions that are famously challenging to track down a sign: deserts, mountain ranges, and other remote locations are all examples.

In any case, the panel seemed optimistic about sat-to-cell technology’s future. Iridium CEO Matt Desch sees cellular satellite service as just the beginning, and Lynk Global CEO Charles Miller stated that satellite cellular service has the potential to be the “biggest category in satellite.” At the event, he stated, “Satellite should connect everything everywhere,” imagining the technology connecting to computers, automobiles, and more.