SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert on Thursday announced “Coverage Above and Beyond,” a plan to expand cell phone connectivity everywhere by leveraging Starlink, SpaceX’s array of satellites in low Earth orbit.
The partnership was announced Thursday night at SpaceX’s facility near Boca Chica beach.
The aim is to bring near complete wireless coverage to even the most remote locations currently unreachable through traditional cell phone signals. The new service will connect most smartphones already on T‑Mobile’s network to Starlink satellites. Sievert compared it to having a cell tower in space, and issued an invitation to the rest of the world’s carriers to expand globally with reciprocal roaming.
Despite powerful LTE and 5G wireless networks, well over 500,000 square miles of the United States, plus vast stretches of ocean, are not reachable by cell signals from any provider, according to the CEOs.
“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,” SpaceX said in a statement.
“The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone,” Musk said during the presentation. “We’re incredibly excited to do this with T-Mobile.”
“We’ve always thought differently about what it means to keep customers connected, and that’s why we’re working with the best to deliver coverage above and beyond anything customers have ever seen before,” Sievert said. “More than just a groundbreaking alliance, this represents two industry-shaking innovators challenging the old ways of doing things to create something entirely new that will further connect customers and scare competitors.”
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Miguel Roberts’ full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: SpaceX, T-Mobile to use Starlink to boost rural cell phone signals
