SpaceX has declared that it will begin testing its cellular satellite service in 2023.
As detailed by, Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s VP of Starlink enterprise sales, declared the move during a panel conversation at the Satellite Conference and Exhibition. During the conversation, Hofeller said that the organization plans to “start getting into testing” with its satellite to cellular service “this year.”
It is not surprising that the timeline has been established. “Coverage Above and Beyond,” a new partnership that will bring satellite connectivity to compatible T-Mobile phones using SpaceX, was announced at an event in August 2022 by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. The feature, which aims to end dead zones, would enable compatible smartphones with the carrier to connect to a Starlink satellite outside of Wi-Fi or cellular coverage.
Dissimilar to Apple’s Emergency SOS by means of satellite feature, which just permits iPhone 14 clients to interface with a satellite to report an emergency circumstance, SpaceX and T-Mobile said that its service will empower SMS, MMS, and messaging through some famous applications like iMessage. The companies claim that this is only the beginning, with plans to eventually provide voice and data wherever you are.
Although “connectivity will be 2 to 4 Mbits per cell zone, so will work great for texting and voice calls, but not high bandwidth,” Elon Musk did mention at the time that the service would not support cloud gaming. That restriction seems reasonable.
Although Hofeller did not specify when the company would begin testing with T-Mobile, it would not be unreasonable to infer that.
