T-Mobile finally confirms what we have been fearing about its Starlink-powered service

Previously, the companies were targeting the fall for deployment. It’s not clear what’s causing the delay, but there are a couple of theories.

Firstly, as PCMag notes, SpaceX had previously said it would need 325 Direct to Cell satellites to launch the service, and as of September 17, the company had 175 direct-to-smartphone satellites in low-earth orbit. 13 more were launched just yesterday, and at this pace, SpaceX is unlikely to meet its goal.

The other possibility is that SpaceX might need some more time to convince the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to relax its current out-of-band power flux-density (“PFD”) limit of -120 dBW/m2 /MHz, which rivals like AT&T and Verizon say would interfere with their operations.In a September 13 filing, SpaceX reiterated the need for a more liberal out-of-band emissions limit, stating that the current “overly restrictive” limit would be detrimental to real-time communications and make the Direct to Cell service spotty and unreliable.

SpaceX says that it can take some steps to reduce aggregate out-of-band emissions of its direct-to-smartphone system, such as cutting down the number of active beams on a satellite, but not without “needlessly sacrificing reliable real-time communications.”

SpaceX also fears that the restrictions will delay the rollout of emergency communications, such as 911 calls, as it will have to add additional capacity to make up for the throughput and coverage limits imposed by the -120 dBW/m2/MHz aggregate limit.

Initially, T-Mobile‘s Direct to Cell service will only support texting and Wireless Emergency Alerts but after SpaceX has 1,500 satellites in orbit, the network will also support real-time communications, internet browsing, and social media posting.In August, a new “T-Mobile SpaceX” network popped up in the Network Solution menu for some T-Mobile users, suggesting a rollout was not far off. Now that T-Mobile‘s CEO has revealed that the company is not sticking with its original plan of a fall launch, many customers are going to be disappointed.