Elon Musk has decided that Starlink emergency services will be available to all mobile phone users across the world.
The company’s cellular tech enables emergency alerts to reach users in even dead cellular zones, using orbiting satellites to broadcast critical messages.
The service is expected to ensure public safety, unhindered connectivity, and revolutionize emergency communication.
SpaceX has already launched nearly 130 direct-to-cellular satellites into space over the last eight months, with more launches scheduled in the days ahead.
Subject to approval by countries’ governments
“After thinking it through, SpaceX Starlink will provide emergency services access for mobile phones for people in distress for free,” wrote Elon Musk on X.
“This applies worldwide, subject to approval by country governments. Can’t have a situation where someone dies because they forgot or were unable to pay for it.”
SpaceX , in collaboration with T-Mobile, worked rapidly in response to the enthusiastic support and eager anticipation from T-Mobile subscribers, including First Responders, for satellite direct-to-cellular service that closes mobile “dead zones” everywhere.
Wireless emergency alerts to everyone
Last week, in a letter to Federal Communication Commission (FCC), SpaceX stated that both companies agree to provide Wireless Emergency Alerts to everyone, including non-T-Mobile customers, in areas where there is no terrestrial coverage.
Based on the success of tests, T-Mobile and SpaceX are now poised to launch commercial service to fully realize the FCC Chairwoman’s signature “vision of a Single Network Future, connecting Americans in places that have never had mobile service before.”
Both companies have made significant progress testing the early network, demonstrating the robust capabilities of the system to connect consumers and First Responders in a wide diversity of conditions—from rural fields and oak-filled valleys to dense urban environments, including while on the move.
Companies urge swift authorization of the parties’ pending license applications
On August 21, representatives from both companies met with officials of Federal Communications Commission to urge swift authorization of the parties’ pending license applications to bring supplemental coverage from space to American consumers using T-Mobile’s exclusive, nationwide PCS G Block spectrum.
“With that framework now in place, the Commission should now expeditiously authorize T-Mobile and SpaceX’s long-pending license applications—most of which predate both the SCS rulemaking and the formation of the Space Bureau—to fully realize the Chairwoman’s vision and bring this pathbreaking technology to millions of American consumers as quickly as possible,” wrote SpaceX in the letter to FCC.
SpaceX’s plan faces pushback from rival companies
SpaceX’s plan is facing pushback from rival companies, including AT&T and Verizon, which argue the cellular Starlink tech risks creating radio interference. The carriers urged the FCC to deny SpaceX a waiver to operate the cellular satellites beyond the normal radio frequency parameters.
In response, SpaceX told the FCC that many users won’t be able to access its cellular Starlink system if AT&T and Verizon get their way, reported PCMag .
T-Mobile is expected to launch Starlink tech for its own customers this fall. The company will be the first to enable satellite-based text messaging, before rolling out support voice and internet data in 2025, as per the report.
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