SpaceX and T-Mobile send first texts via Starlink satellites

SpaceX and T-Mobile send first texts via Starlink satellites


SpaceX founder Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert on stage during a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event in Boca Chica Beach, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2022.

Michael Gonzalez | Getty Images

SpaceX successfully sent text messages via Starlink satellites using T-Mobile’s network, it announced Wednesday, as Elon Musk’s company aims to bring its direct-to-device cell service to market in the coming year.

The recent test comes as major players pursue the market to connect unmodified phones directly to satellites, a nascent subsector of the space economy.

Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC’s Investing in Space newsletter.

SpaceX last week launched the first six Starlink satellites equipped with direct-to-device, or D2D, capabilities, after receiving authorization from the Federal Communications Commission last month to test the technology.

The company said it performed the texting demonstration on Monday — in which SpaceX “sent and received our first text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground to our new satellites in space” — and declared the test “validates” that “the system works.”

Elon Musk's Starlink business has grown quickly and so has its influence

The company said “there is incredible demand and high interest” in adding D2D capabilities to its Starlink network, noting its partnerships with mobile operators including T-Mobile, Canada’s Rogers, Australia’s Optus and Japan’s KDDI.

SpaceX plans to begin offering D2D text service this year and expects to expand with voice, data and internet of things services in 2025. So far, the company has grown Starlink internet service to a network of more than 5,000 satellites in orbit, boasting more than 2.3 million customers worldwide.

Several smartphone makers, service providers and satellite companies have partnered on rolling out D2D service. For example, Apple is spending heavily to provide its “Emergency SOS with Satellite” service, which it rolled out with iPhone 14 models, thanks to work with satellite operator Globalstar.

Qualcomm ended its partnership with satellite communications company Iridium late last year, with the latter on Wednesday pivoting to a new effort it calls “Project Stardust.” Iridium plans to test its D2D service in 2025 and begin rolling it out by 2026.

Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:



Source

TSA plans to let travelers keep their shoes on at airport security checkpoints
Business

TSA plans to let travelers keep their shoes on at airport security checkpoints

Traveler wait in a long security line at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images The Transportation Security Administration plans to let many travelers leave their shoes on at U.S. airport checkpoints, ending a roughly 20-year-old rule, according to people familiar with […]

Read More
Boeing delivers most airplanes since late 2023 after ramping up 737 Max output
Business

Boeing delivers most airplanes since late 2023 after ramping up 737 Max output

Boeing 737 MAX airliners are pictured at the company’s factory in Renton, Washington, on Sept. 12, 2024. Stephen Brashear | AP Boeing delivered 60 airplanes last month, the most since December 2023, as the plane maker seeks to raise production of its bestselling 737 Max jets after a series of manufacturing and safety problems. The […]

Read More
Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner tapped to lead Hershey
Business

Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner tapped to lead Hershey

Kirk Tanner, then chief executive officer of North America beverages for PepsiCo Inc., speaks during the Bloomberg Power Players Summit in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020.  Marco Bello | Bloomberg | Getty Images Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner has been named the new chief executive of The Hershey Company, effective August 18. Tanner […]

Read More