Extreme Tech By Ryan Whitwam on December 15, 2022
SpaceX has deployed an expansive network of Starlink internet satellites in a short time, thanks to the cheap, reusable Falcon 9 rocket. The next step for the company’s megaconstellation is to upgrade to a new, more powerful generation of satellite tech, and if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gives the OK, it will be capable of connecting directly to your mobile phone.
On Dec. 6, SpaceX filed a request with the FCC to equip its second-generation Starlink satellites with “direct-to-cellular” hardware. It’s going to need this to fulfill the promises made to offer offering satellite connectivity on T-Mobile, which include eliminating dead zones with satellite coverage. Earlier this month, the company received regulatory approval to launch up to 7,500 of the larger Gen2 satellites, adding to the more than 3,000 already in orbit.
At the time of the announcement, the T-Mobile partnership was supposed to provide very limited service with SMS, MMS, and select messaging apps. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicted just two to four megabits per second of bandwidth in each 15-square-mile cell zone. The new FCC filing makes more robust claims of “voice, messaging, and basic web browsing” with speeds of 3.0 to 7.2 Mbps upload and 4.4 Mbps or 18.3 Mbps download. IT will operate over LTE band 25, a radio frequency band near 1900 MHz.
More:
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/341576-spacex-asks-fcc-to-approve-direct-to-cellular-hardware-for-starlink-satellites
