T-Mobile today announced the general availability of T-Satellite, its satellite communications service, to everyone, following months of testing with up to 30,000 daily active users. In total, 2 million people have already tried it in its testing phase.
Interestingly, three times more messages were received on T-Satellite than were sent. T-Satellite uses more than 650 low-Earth orbit satellites to basically act like cell towers. T-Mobile bills this as “the largest satellite-to-mobile constellation”.
This works on over 60 phones with no apps required, both Android running ones and iPhones. T-Satellite provides texting service “just like you normally do”. It connects automatically when in range, and you’ll see a “SAT” icon when it’s connected. Since satellites are moving, there may be short gaps in service, but your phone will keep trying to send your message until it succeeds.
T-Satellite is included in T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond and Go5G plans, as well as for Experience More customers that were part of the beta. If you’re on another plan, you can add satellite support for $10 per month. Even non-customers can get T-Satellite “for a limited time” for the same price. The service currently covers the continental US and Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and “parts of Southern Alaska”.