Billionaire Elon Musk has hinted that his internet company, Starlink, would soon be rolling out its direct-to-mobile internet service across countries where it currently operates.
This came as his Satellite company, SpaceX launched 42 new satellites including 26 with direct-to-cell capabilities.
According to one of the company’s engineers, Ben Longmier, Saturday’s launch brought the number of satellites deployed under the company’s Direct-to-Cell program to 168.
To deploy the service across countries, Musk in a post on X on Saturday said the company would be working with network carriers in each of the countries it operates to roll out the service.
Recall that Nigeria became the first African country where Starlink satellite internet service was launched in January 2023. The company most recently launched in Botswana, bringing its country of operations in Africa to 15 and 105 globally.
What Musk is saying
While noting that Starlink direct-to-mobile phone Internet is currently being offered exclusively with Tmobile in the US for the first year, he said other carriers in the country would be onboarded later.
“We are starting off working with one carrier in each country, but ultimately hope to serve all carriers,” Musk said.
With the new satellites, Starlink is promising the world access to communication services anywhere in the world.
“Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities enable ubiquitous access to texting, calling, and browsing wherever you may be on land, lakes, or coastal waters,” the company said in a post on its website.
“Direct to Cell works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky. No changes to hardware, firmware, or special apps are required, providing seamless access to text, voice, and data,” the company added.
What you should know
Starlink announced the plans to launch direct-to-mobile internet service in October last year. According to the information released on its website, the service was to begin with texting in 2024, while voice, data, and IoT services are expected to launch in 2025.
- True to the plans, on Monday, January 8, 2024, the Starlink team successfully sent and received their first text messages using the T-Mobile network spectrum through one of its new Direct to Cell satellites launched six days prior.
- Starlink said people will not need to change their phones when the service is launched as it will work with current 4G-enabled devices.
- Although Musk is discountenancing the possibility of competition with terrestrial mobile network operators with direct-to-cell satellite services, there is no doubt the likes of MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and Airtel will lose some customers by the time voice and data services are available via the satellite to mobile.
- However, the largest telecommunications operator in Nigeria, MTN is already positioning itself for collaboration with Starlink to benefit from its satellite service. MTN Groups recently announced that it was in talks with Starlink in its bid to expand its services to unserved areas across its operating market.
