Starlink’s Direct to Cell 4G Mobile via Satellite Service Achieves Global Cover UPDATE

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced that Starlink have now launched enough Direct to Cell (DtC) capable broadband satellites to be able to deliver “robust” global coverage of their new 4G mobile roaming service. But the first commercial products won’t be able to launch until final regulatory approval is gained.

At present Starlink‘s network has a staggering 6,740 satellites (c.2,600 are v2 Mini / GEN 2A) in orbit – mostly at altitudes of c.500-600km – and they’re in the process of adding thousands more by the end of 2027. Customers in the UK typically pay from £75 a month for a 30-day term, plus £299 for hardware on the ‘Standard’ plan (inc. £20 postage), which promises latency times of 25-60ms, downloads of c. 25-100Mbps and uploads of c. 5-10Mbps.

However, a key development occurred yesterday after SpaceX launched another batch of 23 Starlink’s into orbit, which included 12 that were DtC capable – this brings the total (in Low Earth Orbit) with this feature to 322. This has long been deemed the level needed for the constellation to achieve a commercially viable level of global coverage for the new mobile service, at least in its most basic (text messaging) form. But Starlink has plans to launch a total of 7,500 DtC satellites in the future, which could be put into even lower orbits of between 340 and 345km.

Just to recap. SpaceX previously aimed to launch an initial constellation of hundreds of DtC capable Starlink satellites to support a basic based text (SMS) messaging service by the end of 2024, using nothing more than regular unmodified 4G (LTE) capable smartphones on the ground. Support for voice, data (mobile broadband), and Internet of Things (IoT) services are then due to follow later in 2025.

Musk previously stated (here) that the first DtC capable Starlinks will only support data speeds of around “7Mbps per beam and the beams are very big, so while this is a great solution for locations with no cellular connectivity, it is not meaningfully competitive with existing terrestrial cellular networks.” But it’s not quite that simple, given both the current altitude (i.e. lower orbits = faster performance, but weaker coverage) and the designed performance ranges stated below.

Related documents released in 2022 stated that the DtC system can provide “theoretical peak speeds of up to either” 3Mbps or 7.2Mbps on upload (Earth-to-Space) over 1.4MHz or 5MHz bandwidth channels per beam, respectively, and up to either 4.4Mbps or 18.3Mbps on the downlink (Space-to-Earth) over the same bandwidth channels per beam using LTE (4G) technology.

Starlink recently gave all of this a much more robust test when, during October 2024, they enabled the text messaging feature to provide free emergency SMS texting for hurricane victims in the USA. Despite not having officially launched, the service succeeded in connecting to 27,000+ 4G mobiles in affected areas, resulting in over 250,000 texts sent over the course of several days.

The next step for Starlink is a full commercial launch, which requires two things – the support of a domestic mobile operator and regulatory approval to use certain radio bands (these must avoid causing interference with other terrestrial wireless services). The FCC have not yet granted that approval in the USA, but it is anticipated to follow.

Supporting DtC Mobile Operators (Country)

T-MOBILE (USA)

OPTUS (AUSTRALIA)

ROGERS (CANADA)

ONE NZ (NEW ZEALAND)

KDDI (JAPAN)

SALT (SWITZERLAND)

ENTEL (CHILE)

ENTEL (PERU)

At present Starlink has not reached any agreement with a UK mobile operator, although we think EE or O2 are probably fair bets for the future, not least because Vodafone (soon to include Three UK) seem to be hitching their wagon to the larger comms satellites being launched by AST SpaceMobile (here).

Ofcom are currently in the process of developing a new authorisation regime for such services (here), with their first proposals being expected in early 2025. Crucially, there are also still no details on how much the DtC feature will actually cost, although it’s expected to be competitive with other roaming services. But true global roaming will require wide support from many mobile operators and regulators.

UPDATE 28th Nov 2024 @ 7:18am

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just granted approval for SpaceX to use its Starlink DtC satellites to provide T-Mobile customers in the USA with a mobile service, the first country regulator to do so. But more will follow.