T-Cellular’s Starlink-powered direct-to-cell satellite tv for pc messaging service is now open for anyone in the US to try without spending a dime — together with individuals who aren’t T-Cellular clients. The service will probably be restricted to textual content messaging at first however the firm hopes to have some apps and even restricted multimedia assist prepared by the point it goes stay this summer time.
It’ll value T-Cellular customers $15 monthly as soon as the free testing interval ends in July, or $10 for patrons who participated within the beta trial. Verizon and AT&T clients may also strive the service without spending a dime according to T-Mobile’s press release, and can pay $20 a month per line. T-Cellular clients paying for the provider’s priciest Go5G Subsequent plan (which begins at $105 monthly) could have the Starlink function baked in at no further value.
In the event you watched final evening’s Tremendous Bowl, you then may need been misled by T-Mobile’s ad. Whereas it showcased satellite-supported voice and multimedia messaging capabilities, the general public beta check solely contains texting in useless zones for now. Help for image messages, knowledge, and voice calls is “coming later.”
Mike Katz, T-Cellular’s president of promoting, technique, and merchandise told The Washington Post that messages with pictures or video clips will probably be added by the top of the beta interval in July. Katz additionally expects the satellite tv for pc service to work with apps that “don’t require super-fast knowledge connections,” comparable to sure path/mapping companies and WhatsApp.
“We’ll be working with a bunch of app producers to create options of their apps that may optimize to the accessible bandwidth of the satellite tv for pc community,” Katz stated.
Registrations for the free beta opened in December, after T-Cellular and Starlink examined direct-to-cell emergency alerts and texts in catastrophe zones final 12 months. T-Cellular says it’s accepting customers who register on a “rolling first-come, first-served basis,” however quietly discloses that there are “restricted spots accessible” within the positive print. The Starlink-enabled service works on “most smartphones from the final 4 years” in response to T-Cellular, which lists at the moment suitable units from Apple, Google, Motorola, Samsung, and REVVL on its web site.