T-Mobile and SpaceX are launching satellites to expand live coverage of mobile phones

Aiming to provide connectivity to all parts of the United States, telecommunications company T-Mobile, in collaboration with aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, on Wednesday launched the first constellation of Starlink satellites that will provide direct mobile service to customers.

He said this new space service will benefit more than half a million square miles of the United States, including ocean areas not covered by terrestrial networks, due to terrain constraints, land use restrictions, among other geographic challenges. Written data.

The new service aims to provide an “extra layer of connectivity” where it's needed most. In its initial phase it will serve as text messaging functions The telecommunications company stated that it expects to include voice and data coverage in the coming years.

It is currently unknown whether the service will be available to local customers. El Nuevo Día has requested a reaction from the company, but no response has been received yet.

“Our mission is to be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world, and today we took a new step forward to keep our customers connected, even in remote locations, to give them peace of mind when they need it,” he says. Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and product at T-Mobile.

Four international mobile service providers have joined the alliance between T-Mobile and SpaceX to expand mobile services. Roaming. New suppliers that were part of this launch were KDDI (Japan), Optus (Australia), One NZ (New Zealand) and Rogers (Canada), with more joining soon, as the call for companies is still open.

“Today's (Wednesday) launch is critical to this revolutionary partnership with SpaceX and our international partners around the world, as we work to make dead zones a thing of the past.“Katz spoke.

This launch would provide connectivity to almost the entire country for customers in the “Un-carrier” program (simplified plan structure for new customers), including so-called dead zones, which the signal cannot reach.

The company announced that field tests on the new direct cell phone service will begin soon..

“Launching these satellites for direct cell service is an amazing milestone for SpaceX to showcase our technology,” said Sarah Spangelo, SpaceX's senior director of satellite engineering.

“Our goal is to quickly expand direct-to-cell service with our carrier partners around the world and roll out messaging to T-Mobile customers,” he added.

This launch was announced last year, in conjunction with the telecommunications company’s “Coverage Exceeding Expectations” initiative. The satellites were placed into low Earth orbit using Spacex's Falcon 9 rocket, from Hawthorne, California.