T-Mobile US’s tie-up with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for texting and data usage off the grid will cost customers US$15 (R278)/month after a free testing period, the carrier said on Sunday.

The service is in beta mode now and users can sign up online to participate, the company announced in a Super Bowl ad. In a notable development, people on other carriers, like Verizon Communications and AT&T, will also be able to try out the T-Mobile Starlink service on their existing phones if they support digital Sim cards.

Starting in July, the perk will cost $15/month for T-Mobile users on most plans or $10 for people who participated in the trial. It will be included at no extra charge for users on the company’s priciest Go5G Next plan, according to Mike Katz, T-Mobile president of marketing, strategy and products. Verizon and AT&T customers will be charged $20/month.

At first, the service will only include satellite-supported texting in mobile dead zones, but the company plans to add voice, picture messaging and other data services down the road. “We essentially put cell towers in space,” Katz said.

T-Mobile and Starlink offered emergency texting and alerts in disaster zones last year, regardless of the user’s carrier, and later received regulatory permission to offer the service commercially.

Sunday’s announcement follows reports that Apple added support for the Starlink network in its latest iPhone software, extending the option beyond already compatible Samsung Electronics phones on T-Mobile networks. Apple separately provides a Globalstar offering that lets consumers send texts and contact emergency responders when out of cellular range.

Read: Starlink ‘sold out’ in major African cities – here’s why

Verizon recently received regulatory approval to begin testing its own direct-to-cell partnership for texting, data and voice with AST SpaceMobile. The carrier ran an ad featuring Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and touting the capabilities during the Grammy awards earlier this month. — Kelcee Griffis, with Mark Gurman, (c) 2025 Bloomberg LP

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