On the evening of Tuesday (January 2), American billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the first six satellites capable of providing mobile phone services.

At 10:44 pm on Tuesday, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 “Starlink” satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, six of which provided “Starlink” “Direct to Cell service.

SpaceX posted a video of the rocket launch on social media platform X (click here).

SpaceX is currently working on providing more signals to remote areas. Musk said on social media platform X on Tuesday night that this would allow mobile phone connectivity anywhere on the planet. However, the technology giant also said that although this technology is a good solution for areas without cellular network connections, it does not constitute substantial competition for existing terrestrial cellular networks.

U.S. wireless network operator “T-Mobile America” said on Wednesday (January 3) that SpaceX launched the first set of “Starlink” satellites on Tuesday that can send phone signals directly from space to smartphones.

“T-Mobile America” and SpaceX announced in August 2022 that T-Mobile will use SpaceX’s “Starlink” satellites to provide network access services to mobile phone users in parts of the United States.

T-Mobile said that the “Starlink” direct-connect mobile phone business will start by providing text messaging services to users, and then provide voice and data services in the next few years.

In November 2023, SpaceX told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it expected to deploy 840 direct-connect mobile phone satellites in the next six months.

Other wireless network operators around the world will also cooperate with SpaceX to launch “Starlink” direct-connect mobile phone services, including Japan’s KDDI, Australia’s Optus, New Zealand’s One NZ, and Canada’s Rogers ) Communications Group.

“Starlink” satellites operate like building mobile phone towers in space, providing services to existing mobile phones and enabling text messaging in areas where traditional mobile phone signals are weak or non-existent, without the need for specialized equipment. Kate Tice, SpaceX’s senior quality systems engineering manager, said on Tuesday that the company would be able to provide voice and data services later.

SpaceX successfully completed 96 launch missions in 2023. After sending the US military’s X-37B space plane into space again, it broke the previous annual orbital rocket launch record and continued to dominate the US satellite market.