Starlink gives free SMS to zones affected by wildfires in Spain

[BHAN85]

Free SMS to zones affected by wildfire.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

The severe wildfires affecting Madrid, Ávila, and Toledo have forced the evacuation or confinement of nearly 90,000 people and have tested some of the essential infrastructure in the fire-affected areas. This includes telecommunications networks, which may be disrupted by power outages, damage to cabling, or problems with cell phone towers.

In response to this situation, Starlink has activated its free direct mobile connection service in the regions affected by the fires near Madrid. This measure allows certain phones to connect directly to the company's satellites when they cannot find terrestrial coverage.

Who can connect to Starlink
Activation is available for Movistar and MasOrange customers in affected areas who have a compatible LTE phone .

According to the announcement released by Starlink, mobile phones will automatically connect to its satellite network when terrestrial networks are unavailable. Therefore, users do not need to install an app or have an external Starlink antenna.

Starlink activa gratis en España su cobertura de emergencia por satélite ante los incendios

Los clientes de Movistar y MasOrange que se encuentren en las zonas afectadas pueden enviar SMS aunque las redes terrestres no estén disponibles, siempre que dispongan de un teléfono LTE compatible.

www.20minutos.es

 

[BHAN85]

https://starlink.com/public-files/DIRECT_TO_CELL_SERVICE_FEB_25.pdf

I thought it was some kind of satcom compatible smartphones.

But it seems it's not, any 4G LTE smartphone could be compatible, because starlink satellites emulate terrestrial signal, if I did understand right.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

https://starlink.com/public-files/DIRECT_TO_CELL_SERVICE_FEB_25.pdf

I thought it was some kind of satcom compatible smartphones.

But it seems it's not, any 4G LTE smartphone could be compatible, because starlink satellites emulate terrestrial signal, if I did understand right.

Obviously they have to negotiate deals in countries due to spectrum issues but SpaceX has shown they can provide coverage like a cell tower simply using low earth orbit satellites.

This is not a widespread feature of the usual Starlink satellite array. This is provided by a few custom ones. One of the reasons for the new Starship rockets is to launch much larger Starlink V3 satellites that can handle BOTH internet access and direct to cell.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

SpaceX Starlink DTC team having a video call on X via Starlink direct to cell satellites