T-Mobile has quietly expanded access to a service it launched roughly a year ago amid increased pressure in the wireless industry.
Currently, T-Mobile and other wireless carriers are facing the growing threat of SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, which is rapidly expanding.
Starlink Mobile currently partners with T-Mobile and other wireless carriers to provide satellite cellular service to U.S. consumers. Its service has gained over 10 million subscribers after launching under its previous name, Direct to Cell, in 2024, according to a report from SDX Central.
However, Starlink Mobile is planning to develop its own terrestrial U.S. mobile network and roll out retail mobile plans for consumers that rival Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, according to a recent report from The Financial Times.
T-Mobile expands T-Satellite service
Amid this threat, T-Mobile has recently expanded T-Satellite, a direct-to-cell satellite messaging service it developed in partnership with Starlink.
T-Satellite was launched in July 2025 and is powered by 650 Starlink satellites to provide extended coverage to more than 500,000 square miles of U.S. territory that traditional cell towers can’t reach.
When T-Satellite first rolled out, it only supported a small handful of apps that mainly involve navigation and communication, such as Apple Weather, Google Maps, WhatsApp, etc.
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However, that list has quietly expanded to include Discord, Signal, and LINE, according to a recent report from The Mobile Report.
The Signal app, which is used for messaging, has reportedly been compatible with T-Satellite since January.
T-Mobile customers also found that the messaging apps Discord and LINE seem to work on T-Satellite, and have been for about a month, while apps such as Telegram, Waze, Kik, WeChat, and Snapchat were tested and remain incompatible.
Despite this discovery, T-Mobile hasn’t yet added Discord, Signal, or LINE to its official list of T-Satellite-supported apps on its website. The list currently mentions only 27 apps.
The move from T-Mobile comes after the company’s CEO, Srini Gopalan, said at a JPMorgan conference in May that T-Satellite, which costs $10 per line per month, is struggling with weak consumer demand.
“Just to give you an example, we look at our data in May, and satellite usage is 0.0002% of our total network usage,” Gopalan said during the conference, according to a PCMag report. “That’s three zeros.”
While T-Mobile offers T-Satellite as an add-on, it also offers it as a perk on a few of its plans. Gopalan said that customers prefer the latter option.
“Pretty much no one buys satellite standalone; they buy it as part of the premium package, which gives you a bunch of other benefits, global roaming, ad-free Netflix, etc.,” he added.
T-Mobile leans further into consumer demand for satellite services
T-Mobile isn’t the only large U.S. carrier working to gain ground in the satellite cellular market. In March last year, Verizon rolled out its free satellite messaging service; however, it is only compatible with select Android devices.
AT&T is also currently partnering with AST SpaceMobile to develop a satellite cellular service that provides connectivity for texting, calls and data in remote, off-grid locations. The carrier plans to introduce this service commercially after launching the beta program this year.
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In addition to providing their own satellite cellular services, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are currently working on a joint venture that addresses coverage gaps in underserved communities in the U.S. using satellite-based technologies, a move that was announced in May.
All three carriers claim that the joint venture will provide customers with simpler, more consistent access to satellite services across providers, while also giving them quicker access to feature updates.
T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon’s recent moves to boost their satellite cellular service offerings come as consumers worldwide are willing to pay extra to access these services, according to a recent survey from Viasat.
Consumer interest in satellite-enabled mobile services:
- Around 80% of consumers said they are interested in having satellite connectivity available on their smartphones.
- Roughly 67% said they are interested in using satellite cellular service for messaging and emergency/SOS capabilities, while 65% want to use it for web browsing, data, and video calls, and 63% said they want to use it for voice calls.
- More than 6 in 10 said they would be willing to pay extra for satellite-enabled mobile service.
- Nearly half said they would even switch to a wireless carrier that offers satellite connectivity in its mobile plans.
Source: Viasat
Andy Kessler, vice president at Viasat Enterprise, said in a press release that consumers are frustrated by gaps in mobile coverage, which presents a major economic opportunity for mobile network operators (MNOs).
“This means the industry is reaching an inflection point – MNOs need to move fast to harness the excitement over satellite services to secure loyalty and generate revenue,” said Kessler. “This is about more than providing a feature upgrade – it can be an essential tool for digital inclusion, safety, and economic growth.”
Amid this spike in consumer demand, Juniper Research predicted last year that revenue from direct-to-cell satellite services would surge from $100 million in 2025 to more than $370 million this year, reflecting a 260% year-over-year increase.
Alex Webb, senior research analyst at Juniper Research, said in a December press release that satellite mobile operators will be most successful by partnering with MNOs to deliver their services.
“A satellite-first MNO will struggle to provide connectivity services to consumers that are comparable to terrestrial MNOs,” said Webb. “Satellite signals will be obstructed indoors, leaving subscribers with a disjointed connectivity service; reducing a service’s value.”
“We do not expect satellite operators to compete with MNOs in the consumer sector,” he added. “We believe their best path to securing a return on investment in their satellite constellations lies with partnerships with incumbent MNOs.”
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