SpaceX Gets US Approval to Test Direct-to-Cell Calls Via Starlink
- Will partner with T-Mobile, target areas without coverage
- Trials to involve 840 satellites and about 2,000 test devices
Residents use internet from the Starlink network in Kherson, Ukraine on Nov. 13.
Photographer: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX obtained US approval to run tests on signals between orbiting Starlink satellites and normal mobile phones on the ground using airwaves in partnership with T-Mobile US Inc.
The Federal Communications Commission in a notice Thursday said it had granted a SpaceX request for a six-month authorization for trials that would involve about 2,000 test devices and 840 satellites.