T-Mobile made news during the Super Bowl this year when it announced availability and pricing details for its T-Mobile Starlink service. It turns out the service won’t actually require being a T-Mobile customer.
For starters, T-Mobile is taking sign-ups for T-Mobile Starlink beta, and access will be free until it exits beta in July.
But testing T-Mobile Starlink doesn’t require being a T-Mobile customer. The carrier will allow customers of competing carriers to test T-Mobile Starlink beta for free as well. No need to switch carriers.
When T-Mobile Starlink officially launches in July, it will be included in Go5G Next plans at no additional cost.
T-Mobile customers on other plans can add the satellite-based service to any plan for $15/month.
Don’t have T-Mobile? The carrier will still sell you access for $20/month.
That’s steep pricing for connectivity that is only meant to be used outdoors in areas without cell network coverage, but it’s a bit of a surprise that T-Mobile Starlink won’t require using T-Mobile as your carrier.
Here’s more from the announcement today:
“Now in public beta, this breakthrough service, developed in partnership with Starlink, uses straight-out-of-a-sci-fi-movie satellite and mobile communications technology to help keep people connected — even you, Verizon and AT&T customers — in the more than 500,000 square miles of the country unreached by any carrier’s earth-bound cell towers. That’s nearly the size of two Texases!”
T-Mobile Starlink uses specially configured satellites with Direct-to-Cell capabilities orbiting the Earth 200+ miles up in space and traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour to deliver cell phone signals — text messages for now with picture messages, data and voice calls coming later — to and from locations traditional cell towers can’t reach (aka mobile dead zones).”
As a reminder, the T-Mobile Starlink service is an optional add-on from T-Mobile through its partnership with SpaceX. Apple’s part is only in supporting T-Mobile’s network. iOS 18.3 enables iPhone users to opt out of their carrier’s satellite connected features, but the software update does not install Starlink on every iPhone.
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