After it moves out of beta, T-Mobile’s cellular Starlink service might be a free perk — but only for subscribers on the more expensive plans.
In a Wednesday earnings call, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert briefly discussed the carrier’s plans to monetize direct-to-cell Starlink connectivity once it becomes commercially available in the US.
“We think this will be another reason—maybe the most compelling reason in a long time—to self select up our rate card,” he said. “This will be something that customers on our most valued pack plans will be able to benefit from. And so that’s an area that we’ll monetize.”
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (Credit: T-Mobile)
Translation: It gives people a reason to upgrade to a pricier plan. And T-Mobile is betting that enough people will want satellite connectivity to stay connected in cellular dead zones. The Starlink technology currently only supports SMS texts, but pending regulatory approval and more satellite launches, it’ll eventually power voice calling and internet downloads.
Sievert also sees the cellular Starlink service as a way for T-Mobile to stand out from other carriers, enabling it to retain and attract customers. “Market share, that’s an area where we’ll monetize because this is a differentiated service that we think touches on a chord with the American public,” he said. “The idea of being connected everywhere. [If] you can see the sky, you’re connected.”
T-Mobile will also offer cellular Starlink via “a la carte sales,” or what will likely be a paid add-on. Sievert didn’t give an exact price but said a la carte offering is meant to appeal to “those who don’t have the plans that include it.”
T-Mobile kicked off beta tests of the cellular Starlink system earlier this month, enabling a select group of customers to try out the technology. Sievert added that T-Mobile has been focusing the beta tests “more in the northern” parts of the US due to better satellite density.
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“And what you’re going to see is a phasing. So first, we’re letting people in, in limited numbers, to the beta. Then pretty soon, there’s going to be a moment where we widen that aperture by quite a bit, and that will be an exciting moment,” he said. “And then pretty soon after that, we begin commercial service.”
Interested T-Mobile users can sign up for the free beta at the carrier’s website. The program was initially restricted to five Samsung models, but T-Mobile has since expanded the beta tests to iPhones running the newly released iOS 18.3.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
