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T-Mobile has launched a wide-scale beta satellite-to-cell service using SpaceX’s Starlink, aimed at extending service to remote areas or “dead zones” that cell towers can’t reach. The satellite-messaging service will be free to use until July, even if you arent a T-Mobile customer (that means you, Verizon and AT&T users). Starlink, a satellite internet service that provides high-speed broadband internet to rural areas, is owned by SpaceX CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk. The wireless carrier made the announcement Sunday with a big ad during the first quarter of the Super Bowl. While it’s free until July for all, after that, only T-Mobile’s customers can add the plan for $15 a month; those with T-Mobile’s premium Go5G Next plan will get it at no extra cost. T-Mobile Starlink uses satellites orbiting the Earth at more than 200 miles an hour to deliver cell phone signals creating text messages to and from locations that traditional cell towers cant reach, known as “dead zones.” In the future, users will also be able to send images, use data, and make voice calls. Its a massive technical achievement and an absolute game changer for ALL wireless users, T-Mobile president and CEO Mike Sievert said in a statement. Were still in the early daysI dont want to overhype the experience during a beta testbut were officially putting no bars on notice. Dead zones, your days are numbered at the Un-carrier. How does Starlink satellite texting work? “If you can see the sky, youre connected with T-Mobile. Its that simple, Mike Katz, T-Mobile’s president of marketing, strategy, and products, told Fast Company. When a cell phone is out of cell tower range, the phone automatically connects to the T-Mobile Starlink. The technology works on “most smartphones from the last four years,” including iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, and most operating systemshowever, the iPhone’s latest operating software, iOS 18.3, did not add Starlink to the handset (it merely added SAT as an onscreen option instead of LTE or 5G, according to Forbes). T-Mobile Starlink also broadcasts Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) nationwide to anyone in range of the signal and with a compatible devicewhich could be a literal game changer, enabling users to send and receive potentially life-saving messages in places impacted by severe weather and natural disasters or in remote hiking areas. How do I sign up for Starlink’s beta test? Sign up for the satellite service beta here. It is free for everyone, but spots are limited, according to T-Mobile. Once enrolled, you may have to wait a few days before you can send text messages. Can I also make Starlink satellite calls? No, currently the free beta service only supports text messages including SMS, RCS, and iMessageno satellite calls. Nor can you send your favorite video clips from last night’s Super Bowl, where the T-Mobile Starlink ad first ran, as data is not yet available.
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E-Commerce
Ever wondered what life is like for an astronaut? Now you can ask during NASAs first Twitch event, where astronauts will be broadcasting live from the International Space Station (ISS). The stream is set to take place on Wednesday, February 12, at 11:45 a.m. ET on NASA’s official Twitch channel. The event will feature flight engineer Don Pettit, currently in space as part of the Expedition 72 launch which began on September 23, 2024, and ends in Spring 2025. He’ll be joined by NASA astronaut Matt Dominick, who returned to Earth in October 2024 after conducting scientific research for 232 days aboard the ISS. The NASA astronauts will answer questions about daily life up in orbit, as well as the research conducted in microgravity. They will also talk about how ordinary citizens can get involved with NASA, including via citizen science projects and programs across the STEM field. This Twitch event from space is the first of many, says Brittany Brown, director of NASAs communications office. We spoke with digital creators at TwitchCon about their desire for streams designed with their communities in mind, and we listened. In addition to our spacewalks, launches, and landings, well host more Twitch-exclusive streams like this one. Twitch is one of the many digital platforms we use to reach new audiences and get them excited about all things space. The agency has previously streamed spacewalks and liftoffs on Twitch and its own NASA+ streaming platform, with Earthbound viewers following along. But this will be the first stream where those in the chat have a chance to send their questions up into space. No pressure.
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E-Commerce
To understand President Donald Trump’s media strategy around the biggest television show of the year, it’s helpful to think of his actions as a brand activation. To command and control as much of the nation’s attention as he could around the Super Bowl, Trump simply took a page out of the advertising playbooks for consumer products. Even as Americans cut their cords and watch fewer hours of live TV every year, the Super Bowl remains a tentpole event that people tune in to see. Rather than zipping past commercials on their DVR or YouTube TV, the splashy ads are considered part of the programming. Brands pay big bucks to get their ads on during the gamethe cost of 30 seconds of airtime is now as high as $8 millionthough the true cost is much higher. Brands often tee up their ads by prereleasing them online before the game and they follow through with brand activations afterwards to milk their 30 seconds for as long as possible. Trump did something similar. The Super Bowl is already a big day for the president since the network that airs the game traditionally gets a newsy pregame interview. Had Trump relied solely on his pregame interview with Fox News host Bret Baier, though, the headlines would have been out of his hands and might have focused on some of his most unpopular policies. Even sitting down with a friendly network (Fox will become the first network in U.S. history to air a show hosted by a president’s family member), poses its risks to a president’s narrative. Trump was asked questions about his actions, like putting the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, in charge of cutting government spending (a judge recently put restrictions on Musk’s powers, and polling shows Musk is becoming increasingly unpopular); his threats of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which spooked the stock market before Trump reversed course and pressed pause; and stubbornly high consumer prices that haven’t gone down since he took office despite campaign promises to do so. But rather than rely on the pregame interview alone, Trump attempted to design his own news cycle around the game. Trump was the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, grabbing precious airtime showing him saluting the flag during the National Anthem, and like a consumer brand seeking to maximize its ad time, he teed up his appearance and made time for some follow-through. En route to New Orleans for the game, Air Force One’s path crossed over the recently renamed Gulf of America. With an oversize map as his prop, Trump signed a proclamation making Sunday Gulf of America Day. The rename and proclamation, of course, does nothing to lower prices or make the U.S. safer, but it does have an awful lot in common with brand stunt naming, like IHOP temporarily calling itself IHOb to promote its burgers, or Coors Light, which released limited-edition Mondays Light beers to promote its product on the day after the Super Bowl. Trump left the game early after incorrectly predicting the Kansas City Chiefs would win, but on his way home he looked to make more news, picking a fight with Taylor Swift on his social network and announcing a plan to stop minting pennies. The penny idea is one that’s been floated before, not to mention the fact that Trump’s authority to unilaterally do so is unclear. Still, it has all the hallmarks of his favored form of governance: showy, visceral, and easy to understand. Trump also announced 25% tariffs on aluminum and steel Monday, which may not be as simple or popular, but considering the bread and circuses of his Gulf of America Sunday, the news may well be drowned out by his preferred narratives.
Category:
E-Commerce
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