“Unstable, but promising”: the Americans began to test Starlink satellite communication for ordinary smartphones

The American T-Mobile operator is currently conducting beta testing of SpaceX STARLINK satellite. The company suggested that some of its subscribers try to send SMS from ordinary smartphones through satellite service in a number of areas of Alabama, Colorado and other remote places of the country, where there is no coaching of cellular communications. Some users noted the instability of the signal.

Image source: Starlink

Paul Byrd, the owner of the Samsung Galaxy S24+smartphone, was one of the first users in the United States who gained access to the SPACEX satellite service with a direct connection to a cellular network (Direct-to-Cell) as part of a free beta program for separate T-Mobile subscribers. He took advantage of the satellite service during the hunt in that part of Alabama, where there is no mobile coating. “Everything works as stated,” he told the PCMAG resource. Berd said that he exchanged messages, being in a dense forest where the signal reception was difficult due to trees. “This is not as fast as just sending text messages,” he said, “but I was able to communicate with other people in the zone where I did not have a cell signal.”

Image source: Tim Cash/PCMAG

A resident of Knoxville (Tennessee) John Antikainen, who uses satellite communications using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, was also pleased with the capabilities provided by Starlink’s service. “The most important thing that attracts my attention: there are areas where I often travel and where I have no connection – neither 4G, nor 5G, nor the other. In these places I could use a satellite connection if I needed it, ”he says.

According to beta testers, the STARLINK cellular signal at this stage is not stable. Antikainen, for example, noted that his smartphone loses its satellite connection every few minutes. “The signal often disappears. But you get a notification when you connect, ”he said, adding that with a strong signal he sent text messages to his colleague and received notifications of reading within a few seconds.

Another beta tester named Ian A (Ian I), using the Galaxy S24 Ultra, expressed disappointment with the service, because it is “very unstable and unstable”, nevertheless, by characterizing the Starlink project as “promising”. He also has an iPhone 16 Pro, which provides access to the functions of the Apple satellite exchange through Globalstar. “Although both services demand that you have a clear review of the sky, Apple’s satellite service does not experience so many interruptions in connecting,” says Ien.

Nicholas Kiefer from Ohio, the iPhone user, published a video showing that it was difficult to find a stable signal. The SMS message was sent about five minutes after the initial attempt only after two strips appeared on the screen of the smartphone, reflecting the signal strength, instead of one.

T-mobile reported last week that he plans to expand beta testing to the northern regions of the United States, where there are more satellites in orbit, as well as increase the number of testing programs in preparation for the commercial launch of the service.

To improve the quality of satellite cellular communications, SpaceX appealed to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with a request to weaken the restrictions on radio radiation. The operators of AT&T and Verizon opposed this, claiming that this would interfere with mobile ground networks. SpaceX warned the FCC in September last year that if there is no permission to exceed restrictions, then the satellite service will be able to provide only the transfer of text messages.