AT&T, Verizon Customers Can Get Starlink Cell Service For a Year

T-Mobile is so confident in its Starlink-powered satellite service that it’s giving away a free year of the service to beta testers on rival carriers that switch to T-Mobile. It’s been about a month since T-Mobile surprised everyone by opening its beta test to not just its own customers but also customers of AT&T, Verizon, and other carriers. 

Customers on non-T-Mobile carriers who entered the Starlink Direct to Cell beta will receive a promotional email urging them to switch to T-Mobile and get a year of the service for free, according to an internal document, according to The Mobile Report.

The beta for T-Mobile Starlink is currently free until July. When it officially launches, it will be included in the T-Mobile Go5G Next plan. For all other T-Mobile customers, it will be an add-on cost of $15 per month. For customers on different carriers, it will cost $20 per month unless they decide to switch.

T-Mobile Starlink currently only supports text messaging and location sharing, and during the beta, it’s only available in areas where there’s absolutely no cellular coverage. We gave our first impressions of the T-Mobile Starlink beta and discovered that text messages were often delayed or not sent. However, T-Mobile and Starlink say the service will improve gradually as more Starlink direct-to-cell satellites are launched.

Furthermore, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved Starlink’s request to increase its satellites’ radio emission limits. This would open the door for T-Mobile Starlink to not only improve coverage but also allow for voice and data via satellite directly to phones. The partnership hopes these capabilities will be available later this year.