Direct-to-satellite Starlink coming to Tesla vehicles, but not in the way you’d expect

SpaceX’s announcement with T-Mobile saw the companies announce that SpaceX will use a portion of T-Mobile’s existing 5G spectrum, the “mid-band PCS,” to allow updated Starlink satellites to connect directly to cellphones.

This connection will be limited – at only 2-4 megabits per cell area – but it will be enough to allow T-Mobile customers on their standard plans to send text messages or make phone calls even in some of the most remote areas of the globe. Musk said this speed is enough to support one or two thousand phone calls per cell area. This won’t support massive amounts of data, but it is more than enough to reach out via phone call or send text messages if you are truly in need of communication.

Because the satellites will use an existing spectrum, this means that existing cellphones will be able to connect through the service.