The problem with cell towers is that if you’re not in range, like if you were in the mountains, you wouldn’t get reception. That’s a gap that satellite services like Starlink are trying to close. In fact, T-Mobile and Starlink are already working together on that. But if you were wondering if T-Mobile could use Starlink for satellite-to-phone, that’s a no-go, at least for now.
T-Mobile Starlink satellite-to-phone won’t fly
During the Evercore Partners TMT Global Conference, T-Mobile’s CFO Peter Osvaldik basically shot down the idea of T-Mobile using Starlink as a satellite-to-phone service. The CFO listed several obstacles that would make such a service impractical, at least based on current technology.
You see, the problem is the distance of satellites compared to cell towers. Right now, even low Earth orbiting satellites sit around 350km above the planet. Compare that to cell towers, the distance between each cell tower could be a few meters or a few kilometers, considerably shorter than a satellite.
As you might know, the further radio signals have to travel, the weaker they get. This means by the time it reaches us, it might be too slow to be of practical use. That’s why most satellite SOS services are limited to text messages. Plus, let’s not forget that there are physical barriers to consider, like walls, roofs, trees, and so on.
The argument for satellite
That being said, using satellite technology as a mobile service is actually a good idea. Yes, we know there are certain limitations as we mentioned above. But as a concept, it makes a lot of sense. Cell towers need to be strategically built in order to provide coverage. And obviously carriers would prioritize areas with the most potential customers.
This leaves rural areas with spotty cell service, and that’s the problem satellites could solve. But as it stands, the current tech makes it impossible to replace terrestrial networks. Maybe that could change in the future, which is something SpaceX’s Elon Musk is aiming for. In fact, some analysts believe that Elon Musk buying T-Mobile makes a lot of sense. We’re not sure how long it will take for satellite tech to reach that stage. So for now, it remains purely as a good idea on paper.
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