Industry News

C114 News Beijing time July 24 news, after six months of beta testing, and in advance to natural disaster victims open service, T-Mobile this week has officially launched its direct device (D2D) satellite communication service T-Satellite nationwide.

This D2D SMS service relies on Starlink's more than 650 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide communication support for areas with weak ground wireless signal coverage.

During the Super Bowl in February this year, T-Mobile announced its T-Satellite plan under widespread attention. The operator said it will provide satellite SMS services to T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon users through SpaceX's Starlink system. In the initial stage, non-T-Mobile users will be charged $20/month, but the T-Satellite official website shows that "non-users of this network can enjoy this service for a limited time at a rate of $10/month during the promotion period."

T-Satellite service is included in T-Mobile's Experience Beyond and Go5G Next packages, and users of other packages need to pay a $10/month subscription fee.

In the past six months, nearly 2 million test users (including Verizon and AT&T users) have tried D2D services in remote areas. During the flood disaster in central Texas this month, T-Mobile also opened T-Satellite service to the victims, providing SMS and emergency SOS communication support to the affected communities.