The exclusivity apparently will only last a year – that should not be the only pause for thought among the highfalutin’ statements
Starlink and T-Mobile US announce Coverage Above and Beyond. They describe it as “a breakthrough new plan to bring cell phone connectivity everywhere”.
The low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service will be available straight to the ordinary smartphones of the self-styled Un-carrier’s subscribers, providing coverage to most of the US, including many remote areas without mobile penetration.
Apparently this amounts to more than half a million square miles in the US and “vast stretches of ocean are [also] untouched by cell signals”.
Sounds like the CEO and President of T-Mobile, Mike Sievert, and SpaceX’s Chief Engineer Elon Musk got a bit misty eyed with the wonder of it all. Sievert said, “More than just a groundbreaking alliance, this represents two industry-shaking innovators challenging the old ways of doing things to create something entirely new that will further connect customers and scare competitors.”
Musk says he wants to do a deal with every operator in every country, but start by giving one in each territory a year’s exclusive coverage.
There are several reasons to pause for thought here.
Pauses for thought
The first is that the exclusive deal with T-Mobile in the US will only last a year.
The second is that the Starlink constellation can only handle text messages and “participating messaging apps”. Phone calls will follow “later”. This could coincide as the deal with a rival operator begins, somewhat blowing first mover advantage out of the water?
Thirdly, while Musk said, “The important thing about this is that it means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone”. The US itself is not yet fully covered. Reportedly, the aim is to fix this by the end of the year.
Number four is that Musk has reportedly turned off access to Starlink if he doesn’t like what it is being used for. According to a biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson published a year ago, Musk ordered Ukraine’s Starlink communications to be turned off near the Crimean coast in 2022 to neutralise an attack on Russian warships by Ukrainian submarine drones.
Apparently Musk wanted to avoid complicity in a “major act of war”. Subsequently those Russian warships allegedly shelled civilian populations in Ukrainian cities.
The fifth reason to pause for thought is that Musk appears to be embracing and promoting ever more extreme views and is prone to become extremely angry with anybody who doesn’t agree with him.
In July he said he will move the headquarters of X and SpaceX from California to Texas as a response to a new gender identity law in California, which apparently was the last straw in a long running idealogical disagreement with the state legislatuer. Does that mean he could exclude California from Starlink’s coverage because he doesn’t like the politics?
An opinion piece in the Financial Times [subscription needed] called him “an unguided geopolitical missile”.
Brazil has perhaps stolen a march on Musk, banning the use of X in the country – one of X’s biggest markets – as a bitter legal war with the Brazil’s judiciary rumbles on.
During the recent riots in the UK – in part fuelled by misinformation on social media after the senseless murder of three little girls – he stated that civil war is inevitable in Great Britain and criticised the Labour government.
The arrest of Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, in France elicited the post, “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
In August, Musk had a cosy chat on X showing his support for former President Trump who is attempting to overturn democracy in the US. (Marina Hyde is amusing on their exchange.)
Promoting republics ruled by Alpha males?
Yesterday he reposted and hence promoted (to his 196+ million followers) what used to be called a tweet from Autism Capital. It argued only Alpha males and “Aneurotypical” people – presumably meaning men who are neurodivergent – are able to process information impartially. Hence a Republic of high status males is best for decision making.
The tweet stated that people who cannot defend themselves physically, such as women and low T men, “parse information through a consensus filter as a safety mechanism”.
It seems like there is not enough money or attention in the world to satisfy the world’s richest man. The trouble is separating which is attention- and follower-seeking, and actual convictions he might act on.
Never mind
Still, never mind all that. As T-Mobile’s press release says, “Today’s news is the next step in T-Mobile’s quest to deliver Coverage Beyond. Earlier this year, the Un-carrier gave customers enhanced connectivity beyond the reach of its network – in the air and abroad. Today’s move is the next step on the path to provide the ultimate coverage experience.”
This is a corrected version of this story – in the original a coverage map was incorrectly.