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SpaceX is getting ready to test its Starlink satellite-to-cell phone service
- hunter2_ 4y agoI reckon "cell" is a misnomer in this context. While "cell phone" would've been the only reasonable vernacular in the US a decade ago, the phrase "mobile device" is extremely popular now, and "handset" or "mobile" for brevity would also be pretty good. Satellite-to-mobile, satellite-to-handset, but not satellite-to-cell. Wait, satphone is already a word... use it!
- TaylorAlexander 4y agoWell the phones are normal cell phones. They talk to ground based cell towers, and the SpaceX satellites are just operating as satellite based cells. A “satellite phone” is a term that historically has been used to describe a device which has been specifically designed to talk to satellites, which is not the case here. The SpaceX service aims to talk to unmodified normal cell phones that were never designed for satellite service.
- throwntoday 4y agoThe phones are not talking to cell towers, they are communicating directly with Starlink satellites. The whole point of the service is to provide emergency coverage in areas not served by cell.
- ericpauley 4y agoThis isn't thinking back to the original meaning of the term cell. While the satellites are not cell towers, they do each serve a specific coverage cell (although that cell moves around over time).
- lxgr 4y agoBasically all modern satellites use spot beams, making the "cell" metaphor even more applicable.
- jballer 4y agoThe initial announcement made it sound like this would be a drop-in replacement for cell tower coverage. T-Mobile contributing already-licensed spectrum, existing phones are supported, and they plan to eventually support voice and video: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/spacex-and-t-mobile-team-up-to-use-starlink-satellites.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/spacex-and-t-mobile-team-up-...
- TaylorAlexander 4y agoI understand this, but the phones themselves are normal cell phones, designed to talk to stationary cells, which in this use case happen to be talking to satellites. So I think the use of the term "cell phone" is fine.
- hummus_bae 4y ago[dead]
- sroussey 4y agoA few years behind[1], but they do have the infrastructure to make it happen! [1] https://lynk.world/how-we-do-it/ https://lynk.world/how-we-do-it/
- bryancoxwell 4y agoThe article seems to imply direct satellite to UE connections but doesn’t make any mention of what wireless protocol that would be through and what types of phones would have modems for whatever that technology is. Is there a more complete source out there?
- ianburrell 4y agoIt uses LTE and any phone should work.
- diebeforei485 4y agoThe new versions of their Starlink satellites with bigger and more advanced antennas will just pretend to be cell towers. Similar to a cruise ship or many aircraft (mostly outside North America).
- Idiot_in_Vain 4y agoSo does this only work with their V2 mini satelites?
- diebeforei485 4y agoCorrect. And it will also work with the future V2 satellites (non-mini), which require Starship for launch.
- KoftaBob 4y agoIt's referring to this partnership between T-Mobile and Starlink: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-coverage-above-and-beyond-with-spacex https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-cove...
- Arrath 4y agoOh good maybe I'll finally get signal with T-Mobile
- cronix 4y agoVery excited for this. I live about 5 miles outside of cell range.
- ianburrell 4y agoIt isn't going to get you phone service. The satellite service is low bandwidth, I heard 9 Mbps shared with the entire cell. It will be limited to messaging and maybe voice call. It will replace satellite messengers and satellite phones.
- cronix 4y ago> It will replace satellite messengers and satellite phones. Sure, at first. That's certainly not the end goal. VoIP works well enough for now that I'm still able to work and communicate just fine.
- ianburrell 4y agoThis service is pretty extraordinary and pushing physical limits. It requires new satellites with large antennas. It is unlikely that we'll see faster internet with existing phones. It might be possible to have mobile internet terminals, like a satellite hotspot. I hope Starlink comes out with something like that.
- wmf 4y agoThe upcoming Starlink mini terminal is pretty small but its power consumption will probably still be pretty high.
- ianburrell 4y agoI was hoping they would announce something like that. I bet it kills off the similarly sized BGAN service from other satellite providers. I'm involved with disaster response and the size and power requirements of current antenna are problems. Something smaller, slower, and easy to power with battery and solar would be very useful. Also, new antenna might work well for remote sites. Stick it on pole, power with some solar panels and batteries.
- djyaz1200 4y agoI think this is why he bought Twitter (although I don't endorse the decision). If you can access space from phones and he runs the worlds open messaging system that would change a lot... specifically because then governments would have a harder time turning off the internet. I don't see how he could profit massively from that but I do see how it might create something bigger than the arab spring around the world.
- tjoff 4y agoNot sure how twitter changes the equation? Lock down internet so only twitter works for free?
- dubcanada 4y agocommunication :)
- tjoff 4y agoYou can't communicate without twitter?
- x-complexity 4y ago> You can't communicate without twitter? I think that GP was talking about mass communication, specifically the receiving part. Communication can be broken down into 3 parts: Sending the message, & receiving the message. Sending the message is straightforward & more or less a solved problem. Receiving the message is different depending on whether it's only for one/(a few) people or the general public: The former's also a solved problem, & can be made censorship resistant and tamperproof. The current unsolved problem is broadcasting a message out to the general public whilst being censorship resistant.
- tjoff 4y agoMicrosoft solved this with the likes of winpopup and net send decades ago...
- _trampeltier 4y agoIn most countrys are cellphone licences very expensive, so hm ..
- Ekaros 4y agoAnd all bands are already in use by terrestrial services. Or reserved for something else.
- wmf 4y agoAll bands aren't in use in the middle of nowhere. There's plenty of spectrum available.
- _trampeltier 4y agoI think there is not much spectrum left. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/january_2016_spectrum_wall_chart.jpg https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ja...
- wmf 4y agoI'm not sure how I can be clearer about this. Satellites can provide phone service using spectrum that is already allocated.
- _trampeltier 4y agoYes, but in most countrys, this frequencys had been sold for a lot of money. So I think, SpaceX can't just use this frequencys.
- wmf 4y agoThey can sublicense from the existing spectrum holder as I said.
- db48x 4y ago
- Melatonic 4y agoI have a small Garmin satellite messenger right now that is smaller than my phone - always seemed like those antennaes and chips could be eventually integrated.
- wmf 4y agoThose are integrated into the iPhone 14. The throughput is so low that it's only for emergencies.
- gregoryl 4y agoSignificantly different use cases. Battery life, physical durability, etc are all significantly better than a phone.
- CottonMcKnight 4y agoIridium constellation orbits at 780km, while Starlink is slightly lower at 550km. Don't know how much, if any, difference that makes in the signal strength requirements. As I understand it, Iridium was designed with the tradeoff of accepting weaker signals with lower throughput, while Starlink wants high throughput and needs a stronger signal.
- haspok 4y agoJust to confirm: this will / does require the phone to be capable of transmitting a stronger signal, therefore needing a hardware upgrade? After some googling: yes, there are / will be external comm devices and some future chipsets will support this functionality. Qualcomm, Motorola, and Iphone. Initially for messaging only, but still a gamechanger in many ways.
- samstave 4y agoHow will VPN services fare on Starlink with GPS? Will mobile VPNs be able to block their GEO locations?