Credit to Michael Kan
March 7, 2024
SpaceX: Cellular Starlink System Works on iPhone, Pixel, Galaxy Devices | PCMag
https://lnkd.in/gC2pcAcY
SpaceX's cellular Starlink system is thus far a “massive success, meeting or exceeding testing objectives," the company tells the FCC in a Thursday letter.
The letter details SpaceX's progress on testing its “Direct to Cell” Starlink technology, which uses orbiting satellites to beam internet data to phones on the ground.
The company previously took to Twitter to tout some of its successful tests, which recently included delivering downloads speeds at 17Mbps. The letter elaborates further, and says that SpaceX employees have been testing the technology’s capabilities in Redmond, Washington; Mountain View, California; and Kansas City, Kansas.
“Among other results, the satellites have been able to communicate with multiple models of unmodified Samsung, Apple, and Google devices using (T-Mobile’s) PCS G Block spectrum, including in urban and rural areas, indoors and outdoors, and in clear sky and under tree cover,” the company says.
Specifically, SpaceX used unmodified phone models from the Galaxy, iPhone, and Pixel lineups. “These devices have properly communicated for the duration of the satellite pass and did not experience harmful interference from adjacent-band devices,” the company says.
The other interesting part is how the cellular Starlink technology can beam internet data to phones indoors. The letter doesn’t offer details, but it notes that SpaceX has been testing the cellular satellite technology within the maximum authorized power flux density, or what the FCC defines as the "amount of energy emitted by a transmitter that is present over a unit area."
“This has enabled devices to communicate with the satellites through tree cover and indoors (although the direct-to-cell service is designed for outdoor use), and down to an elevation angle of 25 degrees,” the company says.
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2moThis is freaking sick