SpaceX and T-Mobile Unveil Satellite Plan to End Cellphone 'Dead Zones'

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (L) said he expects the new service to be free of charge on most cellphone plans. (Reuters)
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (L) said he expects the new service to be free of charge on most cellphone plans. (Reuters)
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SpaceX and T-Mobile Unveil Satellite Plan to End Cellphone 'Dead Zones'

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (L) said he expects the new service to be free of charge on most cellphone plans. (Reuters)
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (L) said he expects the new service to be free of charge on most cellphone plans. (Reuters)

Elon Musk's SpaceX satellites will connect directly to T-Mobile cellphones to provide service access even in the most remote places beyond the reach of cell towers from next year, the two companies announced Thursday.

The new service, which will work on existing cellphones and utilize SpaceX's network of thousands of Starlink satellites in Earth's orbit, will begin offering text messaging services from late 2023, with voice calls and data services expected to follow later, AFP said.

"The important thing about this is that it means there's no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone," said Musk, in an announcement event held at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas.

Musk said the service will save lives, giving the example of hikers who get lost and are currently unable to call for help.

"We will no longer read about these tragedies that happened where people get lost and if only they could have called for help they would be OK."

Though satellite internet has existed for years, users currently require specialized hardware, such as Starlink terminals.

"This won't have the kind of bandwidth that a Starlink terminal would have, but it will enable texting, it will enable images, and -- if there aren't too many people in the cell zone -- you can even potentially have a little bit of video," said Musk.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said he expects the new service to be free of charge on most cellphone plans, although there could be a fee for users on low-cost packages.

"It's a lot like putting a cellular tower in the sky. Just a lot harder," he said.

Competition in the satellite internet market is rapidly intensifying.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently announced he intended to launch some 3,200 satellites.

Public institutions are also looking to get in on the act.

China has a plan to launch a constellation of 13,000 satellites called Guowang and the European Union wants to deploy roughly 250 by 2024.

While next year's beta test launch will be restricted to the United States, Sievert said his company expects to expand to overseas markets with reciprocal roaming deals.



The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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The ‘Worst in Show’ CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste

The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The Ultrahuman Rare luxury smart ring is on display at the Ultrahuman booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers' lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health.
But not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show." The award that no company wants to win calls out the “least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display."
“We’re seeing more and more of these things that have basically surveillance technology built into them, and it enables some cool things,” Liz Chamberlain, director of sustainability at the e-commerce site iFixit told The Associated Press. “But it also means that now we’ve got microphones and cameras in our washing machines, refrigerators and that really is an industry-wide problem.”
The fourth annual contest announced its decisions Thursday.
A new smart ring every few years? Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, awarded the Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart Ring the title of “least repairable.”
The rings, which come in colors like dune and desert sand, cost $2,200. Wiens said the jewelry “looks sleek but hides a major flaw: its battery only lasts 500 charges.” Worse, he said, is the fact that replacing the battery is impossible without destroying the device entirely.
“Luxury items may be fleeting, but two years of use for $2,200 is a new low,” he said.
An AI-powered smart crib? Bosch’s “Revol” crib uses sensors, cameras and AI that the company says can help monitor vital signs like how an infant is sleeping, their heart and respiratory rates and more. The crib can also rock gently if the baby needs help falling asleep and signal to parents if a blanket or other object is interfering with breathing.
The company says users can how and where their data is stored. Bosch also says the crib can be transformed into a desk as children get older.
But EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn said the crib preys on parents' fears and “collects excessive data about babies via a camera, microphone, and even a radar sensor.”
“Parents expect safety and comfort — not surveillance and privacy risks — in their children’s cribs,” she said in the report.
Too much waste? Although AI is everywhere at CES, Stacey Higginbotham, a policy Fellow at Consumer Reports, felt that SoundHound AI’s In-Car Commerce Ecosystem, powered by its Automotive AI, pushes it to unnecessary extremes.
The feature “increases energy consumption, encourages wasteful takeout consumption and distracts drivers—all while adding little value,” Higginbotham said. That landed the in-car system as “least sustainable” on the list.
Vulnerable to hacking TP-Link's Archer BE900 router won for “least secure” of CES. The company is a top-selling router brand in the US But its products are vulnerable to hacking, said Paul Roberts, founder of The Security Ledger.
"By Chinese law, TP-Link must report security flaws to the government before alerting the public, creating a significant national security risk," he said. “Yet TP-Link showcased its Archer BE900 router at CES without addressing these vulnerabilities.”
Who asked for this? The awards also feature a category called “who asked for this?” Top of that list was Samsung's Bespoke AI Washing Machine, which Nathan Proctor, senior director of US PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said is filled “with features no one needs,” including the ability to make phone calls.
“These add-ons only make the appliance more expensive, fragile, and harder to repair,” he said.
The worst overall Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association called the LG “AI Home Inside 2.0 Refrigerator with ThinkQ” the worst product overall. The fridge adds “flashy features,” Gordon-Byrne said, including a screen and internet connection.
“But these come at a cost,” Gordon-Byrne said. “Shorter software support, higher energy consumption, and expensive repairs reduce the fridge’s practical lifespan, leaving consumers with an expensive, wasteful gadget.”