(Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SpaceX's cellular Starlink system connected more than 27,000 phones located in hurricane-ravaged parts of the US.
The company mentioned the details in a filing with ISED, a Canadian government department that’s been developing regulations for satellite-powered connectivity. On Monday, it published comments from industry players, including SpaceX, which talked about using its “direct to cell” Starlink technology to help US residents in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“The positive impact to affected communities was immediate. In just one day, over 27,000 mobile devices connected to Direct to Cell satellites,” SpaceX said in the filing, which was first spotted on Twitter/X.
The technology uses orbiting satellites to act as cell towers in space, enabling the system to beam data to smartphones, even when cell towers are down. Last month, SpaceX received emergency authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to use the cellular Starlink satellites to beam emergency alerts and power SMS messages for hurricane victims in states such as Florida and North Carolina.
(Credit: SpaceX)In its filing with Canada’s ISED, SpaceX said that “over 250,000 texts were sent through Direct to Cell—connecting loved ones, family members, and disaster relief services” in the first few days it was activated. This aligns with a recent comment from T-Mobile’s CEO, who also noted the cellular Starlink system had delivered “hundreds of thousands” of SMS messages.
In the filing, SpaceX added: “Direct to Cell is still delivering thousands of messages while damaged terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure is restored. The swiftness with which the US FCC acted to enable this service was instrumental to its success.”
The details offer a glimpse at the capabilities of the cellular Starlink satellites, which currently number over 250. In the US, SpaceX still needs to receive full authorization from the FCC before it can begin commercially operating its cellular Starlink system. In the meantime, the company is close to launching and operating the over 300 satellites needed to offer robust enough coverage. SpaceX’s plan is to first support SMS messaging for T-Mobile customers before powering voice calls and internet browsing.
In Canada, the company is working with local mobile carrier Rogers Communications on rolling out the direct-to-cell capability to consumers. In its own filing to ISED, Rogers stated its satellite services “will likely launch with texting and will then add voice and data across the country’s most remote wilderness regions, national parks, Indigenous communities, and rural highways that are unconnected today.”
But a potential obstacle facing SpaceX is concerns about the cellular Starlink satellites creating radio interference with other networks—which has sparked a fierce regulatory battle in the US. SpaceX is urging the FCC to let it operate the cellular Starlink satellites beyond the normal radio emission limits. Otherwise, the system risks losing real-time voice and video calling capabilities, the company says.
In its filing to Canada’s ISED, SpaceX says it supports the government department’s "evidence-based approaches to defining technical limits" to the radiation emissions for regulating satellite-based cellular services. “By leaving little to subjectivity or commercially driven motivations, ISED will develop a sensible approach to interference management for SMCS (Supplemental Mobile Coverage by Satellite) that balances the deployment of innovative new services with the protection of incumbent services from harmful interference,” the company added.