Some of the cooler technology making gains these days is raining down from above. With the onslaught of LEO communication satellites being launched, connectivity is everywhere and it's getting easier and cheaper to obtain. Through a deal between T-Mobile and Starlink, you can now experience satellite connectivity provided directly to your cellphone.
As soon as I heard that T-Mobile and Starlink were teaming up to provide a direct-to-cell service, I was excited. They offered a beta test program where you could try the service for free if they chose you as a tester, so I threw my name in the hat. A bit of time went by, but eventually I got the email saying that I could sign up and start testing.I signed up and got a new T-Mobile eSIM installed on my phone. This came with an unlimited data plan for text messaging only, so normal calling doesn't work. The data plan was actually better than what I was using for regular service, and it was very cool to be able to switch between T-Mobile and my normal provider depending on who has the best signal in an area.
The beta testing started a couple weeks before my AUXCOMM group was going to be participating in a public service event. This event usually takes us out of the range of cellular connectivity, which turned out to be the perfect test for the service.
For about a week, I traveled through areas that have no conventional cell service in preparing for the event. While mobile, if I ran out of cell service, I would get a message stating that I had switched to satellite messaging. I stopped a few times and sent test messages to various people and to my surprise, they chimed right back. I even got replies while in motion.
During the event I was in a location with heavy tree cover and far from a cell connection. I was able to communicate normally with friends and family all day long with no real issues. I did notice occasionally the satellite symbol on my phone blink, indicating it was re-connecting, but this usually only took 30 seconds or less and didn't hinder text messaging.
The only issue I found was at home where I have a weak cell signal that drops out often. The direct to cell feature is set up to only attempt a satellite connection when normal cellular service is unreachable. This causes a bit of an annoyance because every time it connects to the satellite service, I get a message telling me it's done so, and this happens a lot where I live.
I had the beta service for several months until they ended it in September. Since then, they started offering the service as an add-on for about $15/month. The neat thing is, you can add it to any phone no matter who your primary carrier is. In my opinion, it's a little expensive for a text-only service, but if your looking for peace of mind while in out-of-reach areas, it's probably worth it.
Over the last couple months, they have also opened the service up to specific apps. Google Maps will now use the service, which I've tested and it does work pretty well, although quite slow to load new map data. AccuWeather is another app that is supported and does work well. WhatsApp, X, onX, CalTopo, AllTrails, and of course the T-Life app are also supported, but I haven't tested those.
Hopefully more apps will be supported in the future. Or, better yet, they will simply provide a basic data connection direct to cell so you can access anything you want.
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