If you've traveled to remote areas where cellular coverage doesn't reach, you know that anxious feeling when your communications slam to a halt. T-Mobile's new $10 a month Starlink-based satellite texting service, T-Satellite, which went live today, takes a different approach from other satellite services to provide mobile access even within the half a million square miles of wireless dead zones in the US.
To test it out, I drove nearly three hours from Seattle until my phone bars abandoned me, giving me a chance to see if satellite texting using T-Satellite is as easy as everyday cellular texting.
Watch this: Hands-On with T-Mobile's T-Satellite Service 01:55
How T-Satellite differs from other satellite services
Satellite texting is now a big deal: the wireless providers and phone-makers including Apple are betting satellite connectivity is the answer for travelers and people who live in remote areas (and even those impacted by emergencies such as the massive flooding in Texas).
It also isn't new. Apple started offering SOS communication backed by Globalstar on the iPhone 14. And later, that allowed emergency texting when you're outside coverage areas -- a literal lifesaver for people injured, lost or stranded in remote areas. The feature also allowed you to share you location via satellite in the Find My app. Apple then expanded the service to include any texting using the Messages app, as well as calling for roadside assistance. CNET's David Lumb used Messages via satellite on his iPhone 15 Pro to text friends and share his thoughts when he summited Mount Haleakalā's peak in Hawaii.
Google has a similar feature in its Pixel 9 phones, except the Pixel 9A, which works with satellite provider Skylo. Samsung Galaxy phones, like the recently released Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, can use Verizon for satellite texting and to contact emergency services through Skylo, too.
However, that communication involves a few steps to activate the feature. You need to be outdoors with a clear view of the sky -- no trees or buildings -- and point your phone at a passing satellite, keeping it steady to maintain the connection.
With T-Satellite, the experience is quite different. Texting is almost indistinguishable from when you're within cellular coverage. On a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with a T-Mobile plan, opening the Messages app showed the phone already connected to satellite, with a banner reading "You're messaging by satellite." A small satellite icon appears in the menu bar with radiating curves to indicate the status of the connection.
The phone has automatically connected to the T-Satellite network, as indicated by its (teeny) status icon. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET
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