Starlink's Space Internet Is Coming to Your Phone: Elon Musk Finally Has a Commercial License
Elon Musk has long promised us satellite internet for mobile phones, though we haven’t heard any news about the tests that began in 2023 with T-Mobile by SpaceX. However, today we know that the next big leap for our smartphones will likely be satellite connectivity, as we already have confirmation that Starlink has its initial coverage network ready based on a constellation of satellites.
And this is not the only progress, however, as it also appeared in the past few hours that the North American certification company FCC has granted the relevant commercial authorization to SpaceX, so that they can start deploying this service that Starlink will provide.
The idea is to remove the barriers of ground stations to provide mobile phones with global connectivity, and the ability to communicate with Starlink satellites at high speeds and acceptable latency without increasing power consumption, especially in emergency applications where coverage can be an issue when it comes to rescue in mountains or remote places.
Of course, this commercial license does not mean that tomorrow we will have Starlink on mobile phones, as many issues still need to be resolved.
As for the problems to be solved, of course, there will be a need for phones compatible with this technology in the hardware department, as well as the need to operate the service as an extension of the terrestrial mobile network, due to restrictions and regulations regarding the transmission area. In addition, interference with services on the ground must be avoided and how to achieve effective synchronization with a base station hundreds of kilometers away from the planet must be found.
U.S. regulators call the service Supplemental Coverage from Space, or SCS, allowing SpaceX to edge ahead of its competition with 7,500 approved satellites at altitudes of 340, 345, 350 and 360 kilometers. However, any deployment below 400 kilometers must be reviewed and approved by NASA, because it is close to the minimum orbit of the International Space Station.
We already know that yes, global satellite connectivity for our cell phones is on the horizon, so now we just have to wait for SpaceX to complete its testing and development.