T-Mobile has announced the launch of its Starlink satellite messaging service, allowing everyone, including AT&T and Verizon customers, to participate at no cost during the public beta phase.
During a Super Bowl event, T-Mobile revealed that customers can enroll for free until the service transitions out of beta in July, making it accessible even to those who are not T-Mobile subscribers.
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The announcement emphasized, “When your service is amazing and different, you want as many people to try it as possible. T-Mobile is providing AT&T and Verizon customers with the chance to experience T-Mobile Starlink satellite service using their existing phones.”
When the service exits beta, it will be integrated into the Go5G plan at no additional cost. Customers on other T-Mobile plans can choose a Starlink add-on for $15 per month per line, while AT&T and Verizon users can opt for T-Mobile Starlink’s satellite text messaging at $20 per month per line, provided they have a compatible smartphone.
It’s important to note that while any compatible phone can register for T-Mobile Starlink, this does not imply automatic installation on iPhones. There is currently no partnership between Apple and Starlink, and T-Mobile’s ability to access user data is non-existent.
iPhones possess the Starlink connectivity option through T-Mobile due to their support for the 1900MHz (band 25) spectrum. However, users must actively choose to enable Starlink coverage as part of their service plan; it is not automatically integrated with the iOS 18.3 update.
For reference, Apple has included satellite messaging support since the iPhone 14, following its partnership with Globalstar. Users can opt out of satellite messaging by navigating to Settings > Cellular > your carrier > then disabling Satellite.
