T-Cell’s Starlink-powered direct-to-cell satellite tv for pc messaging service is now open for anybody within the US to attempt without cost — together with individuals who aren’t T-Cell clients. The service might 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 reside this summer season.
It would value T-Cell customers $15 monthly as soon as the free testing interval ends in July, or $10 for purchasers who participated within the beta trial. Verizon and AT&T clients may also attempt the service without cost based on T-Cell’s press launch, and can pay $20 a month per line. T-Cell clients paying for the service’s priciest Go5G Subsequent plan (which begins at $105 monthly) could have the Starlink function baked in at no further value.
For those who watched final night time’s Tremendous Bowl, then you definitely may need been misled by T-Cell’s advert. Whereas it showcased satellite-supported voice and multimedia messaging capabilities, the general public beta check solely contains texting in useless zones for now. Assist for image messages, information, and voice calls is “coming later.”
Mike Katz, T-Cell’s president of promoting, technique, and merchandise informed The Washington Publish that messages with images or video clips might be added by the tip 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 information connections,” equivalent 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 out there bandwidth of the satellite tv for pc community,” Katz mentioned.
Registrations for the free beta opened in December, after T-Cell and Starlink examined direct-to-cell emergency alerts and texts in catastrophe zones final yr. T-Cell says it’s accepting customers who register on a “rolling first-come, first-served foundation,” however quietly discloses that there are “restricted spots out there” within the high quality print. The Starlink-enabled service works on “most smartphones from the final 4 years” based on T-Cell, which lists at present appropriate gadgets from Apple, Google, Motorola, Samsung, and REVVL on its web site.
