T-Mobile prepares to open beta service for Starlink direct-to-cell messaging. Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile cut the price on its commercial service for “T-Satellite” messaging, and plans to start service in July.

T-Mobile is setting the price at $10 per month, and is offering the service to AT&T and Verizon customers as well, CEO Mike Sievert told investors on Thursday. Customers on the premium plans Experience Beyond and Go5G Next have access to satellite messaging for free. 

This is a price cut — T-Mobile originally said it would charge $15 for the service as an add-on, and $20 to customers from other carriers. The company opened beta service earlier this year after debuting a Super Bowl ad. 

“After gauging the incredible response from customers, including broader-than-expected interest from competitors’ customers, we’ve set our final launch pricing for T-Satellite at just $10 a month,” Sievert said, aside from the premium plans. “We’re going to honor this price for AT&T and Verizon customers as well because this is the only place they can get a service anything like this.” 

He said T-Mobile has hundreds of thousands of active users in the beta service. 

T-Mobile is able to offer satellite messaging to non-T-Mobile customers through digital sim cards, called eSIMs, which allow wireless users to switch between wireless provider services on the same phone.

T-Mobile and SpaceX have been working together since 2022 to enable everyday cell phones to send messages outside of cellular network coverage via satellite. According to T-Moble, SpaceX has now launched 566 specially configured Starlink satellites that make this type of connectivity possible.

Sievert said Thursday he sees T-Satellite as part of the telco’s strategy to differentiate its value proposition from competitors. 

“I think T-Mobile is in a spot right now where it’s more differentiated versus the competitors than it ever has been in our history,” he said. “With the strength of our 5G network, all the things we’re doing with T-Satellite, the membership benefits that we’re able to convey to people and the day-to-day superior experience that only T-Mobile provides.” 

Analysts say that the revenue component of direct-to-device services may not be significant, but the value for telcos is in attracting new subscribers and retaining subscriber base. 

“From a mobile operator point of view, you might think that the direct revenue opportunity is not great. But if you can get new subscribers and have better retention in your customer base, maybe it’s worth launching even a limited service for building customer retention. That’s a huge value for the mobile operators,” Lluc Palerm, research director for Analysys Mason, told Via Satellite earlier this year in an article about how the direct-to-device market is evolving.