T-Mobile has successfully tested a wireless emergency alert system using SpaceX’s Starlink satellite technology. This test marks the first instance in the US where a wireless emergency alert (WEA) was transmitted and received through a satellite.
According to T-Mobile, the alert was issued at 5:13 PM PT and travelled 217 miles (349km) into space where it was picked up by one of the more than 175 Starlink satellites designed to function as orbital cell towers. Within seconds, the satellite broadcast the alert to a designated geographic area on Earth, where it was received by a T-Mobile smartphone.
.@TMobile and @Starlink have made history! We've sent the first-ever wireless emergency alert from the U.S. to space. This test shows we're on our way to Starlink's satellites one day serving as space-based cell towers, enhancing connectivity in remote areas like mountains and…
— John Saw (@JohnSaw) September 11, 2024
This test is part of a broader partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX, which was first announced in 2022. The partnership aims to use Starlink’s constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to first enable texting, then later voice calls, and data usage, thereby expanding cellular services to cover vast and remote areas previously unreachable by conventional ground-based cell towers.
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T-Mobile plans to beta test this service extensively before its full commercial rollout. SpaceX’s goal is to make these satellite-driven alerts universally accessible, meaning that in the future, even individuals on different network carriers could receive these life-saving notifications.
The satellite-based phone service will first launch in the US with T-Mobile, before expanding to other carriers after one year of exclusivity. The same pattern will be used in other countries, such as Canada, where Rogers signed a deal with SpaceX last year for satellite phone services.
