Texting From Space: The T-Mobile–Starlink ‘T-Satellite’ Launch Heralds the Direct-to-Device Era
T-Mobile and SpaceX launched T-Satellite with Starlink commercially on July 23, 2025, offering SMS, MMS, and short voice notes via Starlink satellites to standard smartphones. The public beta began in February, and by June, 1.8 million users had joined. The FCC granted conditional approval in November 2024. By mid-2025, about 657 Starlink satellites supported the service.