T-Mobile and Starlink Satellite Service to Officially Launch July 23

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2025 – T-Mobile’s satellite service with Starlink is officially launching July 23, the company said at a livestreamed event Monday. It will include messaging at launch and a broadband data-based service starting in October.

T-Mobile said in a release that sometime later this year, its satellite service would provide 911 texting for free to anyone with a compatible device, which the company said was most smartphones made within the last four years.

The service has been in beta since February, with users, including those using Verizon and AT&T, able to sign up for free. T-mobile painted the beta as a success, saying nearly 1.8 million people had signed on and sent more than a million messages.

Customers on T-Mobile’s Experience Beyond plan, starting at $17 per month for three lines, will be able to access the service for free. Subscribers to other T-Mobile plans or to AT&T or Verizon can sign up for $10 per month.

Starlink satellites use T-Mobile’s spectrum to communicate directly with smartphones as part of the partnership. The carrier said more than 657 direct-to-cell satellites were currently in orbit.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which owns Starlink, has been angling for more spectrum to boost its own direct-to-cell capabilities. The company has been pushing the Federal Communications Commission to open up for sharing EchoStar’s 2 GigaHertz band – something EchoStar has fiercely opposed – and signaled an interest in some of the upper C-band spectrum the agency is looking to put to more intensive use.

AT&T and Verizon have their own satellite texting deals with AST SpaceMobile that have been slower to get off the ground. The satellite company has plans to launch up to 60 satellites in 2025 and 2026. Verizon is separately offering free satelltie texting through Skylo on newer phones.

T-Mobile also touted a recent Ookla report that named the company best mobile network and introduced a new program enticing customers to switch. The company is offering to pay early termination fees and pay off up to four phones at up to $800 each, and provide new phones at no cost if customers sign on for two years. The carrier is also adding free DoorDash delivery to its list of perks for its “most popular plans.”

Competition in the mobile market has been heating up, with the major carriers and cable companies offering price locks and bundles to entice new subscribers and keep them around.