Elon Musk says the first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell phone constellation is now complete

SpaceX has just launched 20 Starlink satellites with its recent Falcon 9 launch, with the first Starlink satellite direct-to-cell (DTC) phone constellation now complete.

In a new post on X, Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk said that the "first Starlink satellite direct to cell phone constellation is now complete. This will enable unmodified cellphones to have Internet connectivity in remote areas. Bandwidth per beam is only ~10Mb, but future constellations will be much more capable".

The official SpaceX account posted on X, announcing that "Falcon 9 launches 20 Starlink satellites, completing the first orbital shell of our Direct to Cell constellation".

If you haven't heard about Starlink's exciting new direct-to-cell satellite communications, it allows smartphones to connect directly with satellites, bypassing traditional cell towers. DTC aims to eliminate dead zones, enhancing connectivity for mobile and IoT devices, especially in remote areas where cell service is hard (or impossible).

• Read more: SpaceX launches Starlink's new direct-to-cell (DTC) technology, seamless global coverage

SpaceX' and its new Starlink DTC technology currently works through the following carriers and countries:

• T-Mobile (U.S.)
• Rogers (Canada)
• One NZ (New Zealand)
• KDDI (Japan)
• Optus (Australia)
• Salt (Switzerland)
• Entel (Chile)
• Entel (Peru)

The bandwidth isn't as high as people would hope, but it's not for streaming 4K video in the middle of nowhere, with Musk saying that the bandwidth per beam is only around 10Mbps, with future constellations to be "much more capable".

Starlink's future upgrades for its satellite internet connectivity (the dish on your roof, not DTC to your phone) will be blasting down speeds of up to 2Gbps+ or more in the near future, so Starlink is truly trailblazing (or should that be stargazing, whichever) with its DTC + Starlink connectivity in the future.