SpaceX authorized to test its smartphone service via Stalink in the USA
Elon Musk's SpaceX has received permission from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test its Starlink mobile service, which will use satellites to provide Internet access to smartphones in various locations across the US.
Pilot trial for 180 days
The FCC on Thursday granted SpaceX an “experimental temporary special authorization,” which allows the company to conduct the pilot project for 180 days, or until June 14 next year. The test will use T-Mobile frequencies to send data to unmodified phones on the ground via Starlink satellites.
The approval comes a week after the FCC initially granted SpaceX partial authorization to deploy the Starlink mobile service. That approval only allowed the company to launch satellites with the technology needed for mobile service. However, it limited SpaceX from carrying out any other tests beyond verifying the functionality of the satellite dishes.
The latest authorization allows SpaceX to test the core functionality of the Starlink mobile service, delivering data to smartphones on Earth using the 1910-1915 and 1990-1995MHz radio bands.
The low-orbit satellites put into space by SpaceX can now test Direct to Cell services through StalinkI which will be distributed via an eNode modem, which transforms each satellite into a real cell tower. Virtually no part of the US territory will be able to remain without data service.
840 satellites used as cell towers
SpaceX plans to use 840 satellites, each acting as an orbiting cell tower, to provide connectivity to 2,000 ground test devices. The company initially proposed testing the service in 13 locations, but later added 12 more “radio astronomy sites” to the list, so it could evaluate the service as widely as possible.
According to the company's request, about 60 of the satellite's 840 payloads will be intended to serve cell phones in the United States. Test sites for this experimental authorization include Mountain View, California, Kansas City, Kansas, Redmond, Washington, and Dallas, Texas.
The tests will help SpaceX and the FCC evaluate potential interference problems that the Starlink mobile service could cause to other users of radio spectrum in the United States, such as other carriers and satellite operators. Several companies, including AT&T, Dish Network and Globalstar, have expressed concern that the Starlink mobile service could interfere with their services.
SpaceX has responded to these concerns by arguing that Starlink mobile service will be a boon to US consumers and not a threat to radio spectrum. Anyone who has traveled in the rural US knows that cell service in the US, outside of the big cities and in the more rugged parts of the country, is not optimal and Starlink could actually bring some improvements.
Obviously this service is a potential threat to other cellular operators in the US and the FCC can stop the trial, or block its continuation, if there are strong complaints about it affecting other services.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article SpaceX authorized to test its smartphone service via Stalink in the USA comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/spacex-autorizzata-a-testare-il-suo-servizio-per-smartphone-tramite-stalink-negli-usa/ on Fri, 15 Dec 2023 11:37:24 +0000.