FCC Authorizes T-Mobile and SpaceX to Operate Cellular Coverage from Space

The FCC has granted SpaceX and T-Mobile formal authorization to commercially operate cellular service via second-generation Starlink satellites, many of which are already in orbit. SpaceX and T-Mobile announced plans for the service in 2022, which is intended to provide limited service only in "dead zones" where T-Mobile's land-based network of towers does not currently reach. It will support only messaging at first, expanding to data and voice as SpaceX launches more satellites (increasing the capacity of the system). T-Mobile has been testing the service this year, and received temporary permission to deploy it during the Hurricane Milton disaster in October. Verizon and AT&T have announced plans to offer a similar service via partnerships with AST SpaceMobile. Both the SpaceX and AST systems work with most existing phones, while similar services from Apple, Google — and soon, Samsung — require specific support designed into the phone.