They are partnering with T-Mobile I was with T-Mobile for many years, switching to Verizon when I could not get a reliable signal on Camano. Cell service at the farm is still a joke for all carriers.
This press release from T-Mobile:
T‑Mobile Takes Coverage Above and Beyond With SpaceX
In a live event today, T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) CEO and President Mike Sievert and SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk announced Coverage Above and Beyond: a breakthrough new plan to bring cell phone connectivity everywhere. Leveraging Starlink, SpaceX’s constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, and T-Mobile’s industry-leading wireless network, the Un-carrier plans to provide near complete coverage in most places in the U.S. – even in many of the most remote locations previously unreachable by traditional cell signals.
Today, despite powerful LTE and 5G wireless networks, well over half a million square miles of the U.S. in addition to vast stretches of ocean are untouched by cell signals … from ANY provider. And as anyone who has ever encountered a mobile dead zone knows, the wireless industry has struggled to cover these areas with traditional terrestrial cellular technology, most often due to land-use restrictions (e.g. National Parks), terrain limits (e.g. mountains, deserts and other topographical realities) and America’s sheer vastness. In those areas, people are either disconnected or pay exorbitant rates to lug around a sat phone. SpaceX and T-Mobile share a vision where these uncovered areas are a relic of the past, and today, the companies are taking a first step to make that vision a reality.
From the middle of Death Valley to the Great Smoky Mountains or even that persistent neighborhood dead zone, T-Mobile and SpaceX have a vision to give customers a crucial additional layer of connectivity in areas previously unreachable by cell signals from any provider. And the service aims to work with the phone already in your pocket. The vast majority of smartphones already on T-Mobile’s network will be compatible with the new service using the device’s existing radio. No extra equipment to buy. It just works.
Very cool - time to switch back to T-Mobile once this gets deployed. I know several people with Starlink and they are beyond happy with it. This will make Search and Rescue a lot easier too - Satellite phones (and compact messaging devices) are available but very expensive so a lot of hikers do not carry one. I can see a market for similar small devices that plug into this network. I would sell my Iridium stock if I had any.
Fun time to be alive - very clever application of existing technology. Musk has vision.
Wish we had more of him and fewer Bill Gates' - Gates is not that bright and he has morphed into genuinely evil person. Not from intent, from stupidity and narcissism.
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