And there we have it– T-Mobile and SpaceX unveiled the big news they announced yesterday. 

At a live event held earlier today at SpaceX’s starbase in southern Texas, the two CEOs, Mike Sievert and Elon Musk, announced Coverage Above and Beyond. This is a new plan that brings cell phone connectivity to just about every part of the US, even in some of the most remote locations. 

“We’ve always thought differently about what it means to keep customers connected, and that’s why we’re working with the best to deliver coverage above and beyond anything customers have ever seen before. More than just a groundbreaking alliance, this represents two industry-shaking innovators challenging the old ways of doing things to create something entirely new that will further connect customers and scare competitors.”

Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO

“The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone. We’re incredibly excited to do this with T-Mobile.”  

Elon Musk, SpaceX Chief Engineer

The two revealed that they plan to cover the untouched cell signals that comprise over half a million square miles in the country. Together, they intend to create an entirely new network that combines the powers of Starlink, SpaceX’s constellation of satellites, and T-Mo’s wireless network.

This newly unveiled service is expected to make its beta launch before 2023 ends. There are future plans to include data in a future expansion of the service. 

Elon Musk turned to Twitter to share that customers can expect a connection speed over satellite connection at around 2-4 Mbps “per zone”. This means that all connected devices in that zone will share this connection speed.

Sievert plans to offer the extra coverage option as a free perk to their “most popular plans.” But for other plans, this will be available as a paid add-on feature.    

The goal, eventually, is to make it available worldwide. And for this, T-Mobile has issued an open invitation to the different carriers around the world to collaborate and make a truly global connection. 

You can learn more about the announcement here.

Source: T-Mobile