Although it is still in the testing phase, it appears that Starlink’s Direct to Cell service for mobile phones is already working. This was recently demonstrated by the private space firm when it shared a video of the first video call that was completed using Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellite technology.
The demo of Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellites, which appeared to have been held at the company’s office complex in Redmond, Washington, was posted on social media platform X. As can be seen in the clip, a video call X was made between to two mobile phones, one using a terrestrial Internet connection and the other using Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellites.
“The first video call to X was made via Starlink Direct to Cell satellites from unmodified cell phones!” Starlink wrote in his post on X.
The first video call is activated @X completed through @Starlink Direct to mobile satellites from unmodified mobile phones!
We are excited to live with it @TMmobile later this year 🛰️🌎 pic.twitter.com/v4nA5B75EX
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2024
While the image quality of the call itself was quite poor, the demo remains quite impressive. As noted in a PCMag According to the report, SpaceX so far has only 38 Starlink Direct to Cell satellites in service as of last week. In January, there were only six of the mobile satellites in service. Despite the small number of Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capability, however, a test conducted in March showed the system offers download speeds of up to 17 Mbps on an unmodified Android smartphone.
Plans are underway to launch Starlink’s Direct to Cell service for T-Mobile customers in the United States later this year. This should allow T-Mobile users to gain connectivity even in remote areas where traditional cell towers are not available. Of course, SpaceX would still have to wait for FCC approval before such a service could be rolled out in the United States. With that in mind, the latest demonstration at X could be part of SpaceX’s efforts to convince regulators that its Direct to Cell solution is a viable service.
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