SpaceX and T-Mobile announced an ambitious plan on Thursday evening to provide ubiquitous connectivity from space to anyone with a cell phone.
The project would pair SpaceX’s Starlink satellite technology with the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, T-Mobile US, and its mid-band spectrum, mobile network, and large customer base.
Delivering space-to-ground Internet to mobile phones will require SpaceX to finalize development of its second generation of Starlink satellites. These will be significantly larger than the current ones, which have a mass of about 295 kg. SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk said the project could enter “beta service” before the end of 2023.
