Subj : The end of cellular dead zones? Starlink beams first text message To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Jan 11 2024 11:45:05 The end of cellular dead zones? Starlink beams first text messages to phones Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:33:54 +0000 Description: Starlink has successfully sent its first text message via satellite, paving the way for an end to cellular dead zones. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Just six days after launching its first batch of Direct to Cell satellites, Starlink has successfully sent and received a text message between two unmodified smartphones on the ground spelling the beginning of the end for cellular dead zones. Most normal modern phones cant communicate with satellites and those that can like the iPhone 15 cant use satellites like they can cell towers. Often satellites can only be accessed for emergency services, and you have to aim your phone up at the satellite for the message to send . Thanks to an on-the-ground relay system and bespoke satellites, Starlink has been able to get around this technical hurdle and seemingly made satellite messaging as easy as regular text messaging. Well, at least from the texters perspective. A diagram of how Starlink's network works (Image credit: Starlink) Starlink hasnt revealed much about its first-ever space-relayed text beyond that the experiment was a success. We dont know how long it took for messages to make the full journey, if the success rate was 100%, or exactly what the very first message was. In an image of the text chain shared on Twitter ( now X ) the top message is Hellow, but the presence of a Beam 2 message in one version of the conversation that isnt in the other suggests that some texts have been deleted from the chat to make it look more like a real conversation. As such the first message could have something more technical, and a lot less fun, than a misspelled Hello. We also dont know exactly when the service will start rolling out. Its still waiting on FCC approval in the US, but the company is looking to launch the Starlink cellular service for T-Mobile customers sometime in 2024 with voice calls and mobile data hopefully following in 2025. There's no word yet when it will come to other parts of the world, but we hope we won't be waiting long. This is why I want T-Mobile and Starlink's out-of-this-world phone plan Texts between two phones sent through our Direct to Cell satellites in space pic.twitter.com/jd8b7uiZSq January 11, 2024 See more One small text for man Theres still a lot further for the tech to go, and by Starlink's own admission a lot of hurdles to jump when it comes to voice and data these services need to be a lot more consistently reliable than texting. But this recent success of its orbiting cell towers is a major leap towards completely eliminating cellular dead zones. Weve already seen how impactful satellite messaging has been in the latest iPhones. There are a good number of stories online about people who used the service to get help when they would otherwise have had no other option. It takes time for new phone hardware to get to everyone though. Starlinks approach of changing cell towers rather than cell phones could get more people access to satellite messaging more quickly. Whats more, as we mentioned above, it gives people a service that more closely matches the kind of connectivity we expect from terrestrial cell towers. Well have to wait and see how the technology and regulations develop, but the days of losing signal in remote parts of the world may be numbered. You might also like... This is our clearest look yet at OnePlus affordable Samsung Galaxy S24 rival Google and Samsung just made sharing files on Android much easier Asus ROG Phone 8 is made to go beyond gaming with flagship specs ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/the-end-of-cellular-dead-zones-starlink-beams -first-text-messages-to-phones --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .