AT&T and the Rural Wireless Association are taking issue with SpaceX’s plans to launch and test a new satellite with cellular capabilities, part of Starlink’s collaboration with T-Mobile US to leverage T-Mo’s midband spectrum for satellite-based direct-to-cellular communications, including emergency SMS.
The carrier and the industry association are both framing their objections as mostly procedural, although they also indicate concerns about potential interference; specifically, RWA says, with adjacent terrestrial cellular operations in the PCS C block at 1.895-1.910 GHz and the AWS H block at 1.995-2 GHz.
SpaceX said that it recently applied for special temporary authority, or an STA, to “accelerate its deployment by testing its direct-to-cellular payload in conjunction with fast-approaching launches of its first supplemental coverage satellites.” And, the company insists, procedural quibbles shouldn’t delay the granting of an STA for that testing.
“Earlier this year the Commission unanimously determined that rapidly processing direct-to-cellular applications while it considers long-term rules would serve the public interest by
facilitating testing and deployment of innovative supplemental coverage capabilities for American consumers,” SpaceX fired back in a response letter, calling RWA a “DISH-mouthpiece” and accusing the organization and AT&T of coordinating a “desperate, 11th-hour campaign” to disrupt its testing and deployment of a system which it says will bring ubiquitous connectivity across the country.
“No technical reason exists to deny SpaceX’s request,” the company concluded, adding that it would “operate only on a noninterference, non-protected basis.”
Starlink is planning to expand its satellite-to-cellular-phone services from emergency texting to include voice, data and IoT service, starting in 2025. A Starlink website promoting the LEO satellite company’s Direct to Cell services promises “ubiquitous coverage” and “seamless access to text, voice, and data for LTE phones across the globe.”
The Direct to Cell services will work with existing LTE phones “wherever you can see the sky,” Starlink says on its site, adding, “No changes to hardware, firmware, or special apps are required, providing seamless access to text, voice, and data.” Starlink goes on to say that its Direct to Cell will also “connect IoT devices with common LTE standards.”
Starlink says that the service requires specifically outfitted LEO satellites with the Direct to Cell capabilities that it must launch and scale. It is gathering the permissions to conduct testing on such a service—but
