Starlink continues to test the capabilities of DTC technology.
On March 3, 2024, SpaceX engineers recorded a maximum download speed of about 17 Mbps from the Starlink satellite with Direct to Cell (DTC) technology directly to an unmodified Samsung Android smartphone as part of tests. The tests were conducted on a 4G/LTE network using frequencies provided by T-Mobile US.
Commenting on the result, Elon Musk noted that "this is the current peak speed per beam (communication channel), and the beams are wide enough, so this system is effective only where there is no existing cellular connection."
The first DTC satellites were launched by SpaceX earlier this year. A week later, the first SMS messages were sent to them. T-Mobile US frequencies were also used for communication.
DTC-enabled Starlink satellites are equipped with special antenna arrays with sensitive receivers and powerful transmitters that can pick up very weak signals from ground-based mobile phones and transmit data to them. Also on board are microchips that optimize communication.
At the end of February, SpaceX published a post on the X* social network via the Direct to Cell system.
"This post was published from a regular mobile phone directly via a SpaceX satellite, without any special equipment," Elon Musk wrote on Twitter .
Ben Longmire, one of the leaders of the Starlink Direct to Cell project at SpaceX, then confirmed that the team was posting a message on the X platform via Starlink satellites. To his post, he attached a photo of a trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where there is no cellular connection with conventional providers and where data was transmitted via Direct to Cell.
On March 3, 2024, SpaceX engineers recorded a maximum download speed of about 17 Mbps from the Starlink satellite with Direct to Cell (DTC) technology directly to an unmodified Samsung Android smartphone as part of tests. The tests were conducted on a 4G/LTE network using frequencies provided by T-Mobile US.
Commenting on the result, Elon Musk noted that "this is the current peak speed per beam (communication channel), and the beams are wide enough, so this system is effective only where there is no existing cellular connection."
The first DTC satellites were launched by SpaceX earlier this year. A week later, the first SMS messages were sent to them. T-Mobile US frequencies were also used for communication.
DTC-enabled Starlink satellites are equipped with special antenna arrays with sensitive receivers and powerful transmitters that can pick up very weak signals from ground-based mobile phones and transmit data to them. Also on board are microchips that optimize communication.
At the end of February, SpaceX published a post on the X* social network via the Direct to Cell system.
"This post was published from a regular mobile phone directly via a SpaceX satellite, without any special equipment," Elon Musk wrote on Twitter .
Ben Longmire, one of the leaders of the Starlink Direct to Cell project at SpaceX, then confirmed that the team was posting a message on the X platform via Starlink satellites. To his post, he attached a photo of a trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where there is no cellular connection with conventional providers and where data was transmitted via Direct to Cell.
