On May 25th, SpaceX announced the successful completion of an experiment involving satellite video calls using the Starlink network.
According to SpaceX, they utilized T-Mobile's network to successfully send messages and videos via the Starlink satellites. They plan to launch their direct satellite phone service to the market within the next year.
SpaceX aims to introduce D2D text services this year and expand to voice, data, and IoT services by 2025.
According to the SpaceX official website, the direct-to-phone service can be used in conjunction with existing phones without the need to change hardware, firmware, or special applications, enabling "seamless access to text, voice, and data."
This means that users do not need to purchase a new phone that supports satellite communication to achieve direct satellite connectivity, which differs from current technologies such as Huawei, iPhone, and Tianyi Bodun.
The official estimate is that the service will enable sending text messages starting in 2024, and voice calls, web browsing, and connecting to IoT devices starting in 2025.
