‘Come With Your Phone The Way It Is. We’ll Integrate You Into A Cellular-Starlinks Network Upgrade’: Elon Musk’s Grand Plan
The Oasis Reporters
August 27, 2024
After reading ‘so many books’ on engineering (according to him) and embarking on ground breaking innovative thinking in space technology, Elon Musk finally launched over 3,000 satellites in space, giving his SpaceX company, a global footprint to cover the whole world with Internet access.
His fertile brain didn’t stop there.
Now his innovative thinking has dreamed up another grand plan.
Elon Musk’s Starlink has worked up plans to bring internet and mobile services to subscribers’ phones in a deft move aimed at consolidating market share.
In an update on its official website, the company said the new satellites will have an advanced Evolved Node B (eNodeB) modem onboard that will act like a cellphone tower in Space, allowing network integration to that of a roaming partner.
An eNodeB refers to base station equipment that handles the radio interface with mobile devices.
Once activated, the service will connect with ordinary unmodified phones without the need for extra equipment, provided the devices are 4G LTE-compatible.
LTE (Long-Term Evolution) is a fourth generation (4G) wireless standard that provides increased network capacity and speed for mobile phones and other cellular devices compared with third generation (3G) technology.
LTE technology is used by phone carriers to deliver wireless data to a consumer’s phone.
“Direct to cell works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky
No changes to hardware, firmware, or special apps are required, providing seamless access to text, voice and data”, wrote Starlink.
In addition to expanding mobile coverage, Direct to Cell will enable ubiquitous Internet of Things connectivity outside of terrestrial coverage, connecting millions of devices across critical global industries. “
According to the update, Direct to cell satellites will initially be launched on Falcon 9 rocket and then on Starship.
On-orbit, the satellites will immediately connect over laser backhaul to the Starlink constellation.
Text capabilities are lined up for rollout before the close of this year, while voice and data services will be made available to users next year.
The launch tests were carried out starting January 2, with the firm reporting that the early pilots were completed without issue and that six days after the launch, technicians were able to send and receive text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground using the US-based T-Mobile network spectrum.
Among the initial challenges encountered at the time was figuring out how to sufficiently transmit strong radio signals to and from mobile phones that were not designed to connect to satellites.
In response, Starlink says the technical team developed custom silicon onboard the satellite that is optimized for this application and reduces both power and costs on the satellite.
They also developed large and advanced phased arrays that use extremely sensitive radio receivers as well as high-powered transmitters for communicating with mobile phones from space.
“The antennas were designed to ride on the Starlink 3mini satellites and are reliably launched and deployed to low Earth orbit every few days by the Falcon 9 rocket…Since our vision is to connect everone using their existing phones without needing a new phone, upgrades, or a special app, we decided to use a standard LTE/4G protocols,“ notes the firm.
The satellite service will be ready for deployment anywhere across the globe subject to regulatory approvals without any dedicated ground infrastructure.
Starlink will also need to forge partnership with existing telco operators who will provide the critical LTE spectrum that will be used to transmit the satellite signals in what will allow Starlink to integrate like a standard roaming partner with local network operators.
The onboarded operators will in turn be granted reciprocal global access that will allow their users to access the service when they travel to any of the partner countries.
The Direct to Cell service would supplement Starlink’s current and office installed services that have become popular with a growing number of users in Africa.
Satellite phone services that used to be very expensive and available to only the rich and wealthy people who owned Thuraya phones would be in mass markets, while maintaining their old phones without modifications. Elon Musk has done simple engineering mathematics and the sum has added up. Innovative thinking is the way to lifestyle improvements.
Get ready for the new experience.
By Greg Abolo
gregabolo@gmail.com with additional report from: Nation Media
