SpaceX Starlink satellites will be provide regular mobile phone service [VIDEO]

(Screenshot / Youtube / SpaceX)

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, now wants to provide phone service.

The new generation of Starlink satellites will allow anyone with a smartphone to connect to the mobile network and the Internet, even from places where there is no land coverage.

The connection speed will be from two to four megabits per second.

Cellular communications seem to be ubiquitous, but in fact, there are still many regions in the world that are not covered by cell tower signals.

And if we consider not only land, but also the water surface, then about 90% of the Earth's surface remains without access to mobile communications.

Communication in such places is provided by satellites, but users need to have a satellite phone and an expensive communication tariff.

That’s why engineers are trying to solve this problem and find a way to connect ordinary smartphones to satellites.

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STARLINK PLAN
Now Elon Musk, along with Mike Sievert (T-Mobile CEO), announced the launch of a joint project to provide universal cellular communications, which will eliminate mobile dead zones.

SpaceX's second generation of Starlink satellites will provide coverage because the current low-Earth orbit versions aren't powerful enough to pick up a weak mobile phone signal.

The Starlink V2 devices will be significantly larger than the current ones, which weigh about 295 kilograms.

They will be equipped with a more powerful phased array antenna, the satellite body will be about 7 meters long, and the antenna will unfold 5 meters to the side.

At the same time, this design will ensure communication without any technical modifications in the phone or special firmware.

In turn, T-Mobile has pledged to provide other partner providers with mutual roaming.

The phone will search for a signal from the nearest cell tower, and when it doesn't find it, it will connect to the nearest satellite in the sky as if it were a cell tower on the ground.

The connection speed will be from two to four megabits per second.

According to the developers, this is enough to send text messages such as SMS, MMS and messenger messages.

Over time, it is planned to add the ability to make calls and exchange other data.

Elon Musk said that the beta version will be launched in certain regions as early as the end of 2023, after the planned launches of SpaceX satellites.

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HEAVIER ROCKETS
Since Starlink V2 is significantly larger than the first generation of satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket will not be able to deliver them into orbit.

The full size Starlink V2 satellites will need to wait for the launch of the much larger Starship rocket.

At the same time, Musk noted that SpaceX could develop a smaller version of Starlink V2 that could fit in the payload fairing of the Falcon 9 rocket.

However, it will be possible to provide global communication “as announced” only after the commissioning of Starship.

The companies plan to provide text coverage to customers virtually everywhere in the continental US, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and most of the world's oceans.

Source:

• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/updates/#direct2cell
• Techcrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/25/t-mobile-phones-will-connect-to-starlink-for-free-starting-next-year/

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