Photo: Rogers Canada

One of the biggest telcos/wireless operators in Canada is bringing satellite messaging to market. Rogers is launching Rogers Satellite, a new satellite-to-mobile text messaging service, enabled by SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, the company announced July 15.

Interestingly, Rogers did not name SpaceX as the partner, but Vice President of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls confirmed on X that Starlink is providing the satellite service.

The telco is offering a beta trial for free to customers in Canada. Like the T-Mobile service, it is not limited to Rogers customers and is available to any carrier, as long as a customer has a compatible device. Customers on other carriers need to download the Rogers eSIM for this to work.

Rogers Satellite will initially support text messaging and text-to-911 and will expand to support apps, data and voice services, including 911 voice services. Once the beta trial ends in October, Rogers Satellite will be included at no additional cost to customers on the its highest-level plan and will also be available for all Canadians for $15 Canadian dollars/month ($10.95). Canadians participating in the beta trial will receive a discount for the first year.

Rogers noted how this service will expand coverage in Canada, citing that only 18% of the country is covered by traditional wireless networks.

Earlier this month, Rogers celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the first wireless call in Canada, and it believes this new technology will represent the next big leap in wireless connectivity.

“We continually invest to bring Canadians the best networks and the most coverage. Now, with Rogers mobile spectrum paired with satellite technology, Canadians can turn their smartphone into a satellite phone to stay connected and access text-to-911 in some of the most remote parts of Canada,” Mark Kennedy, Rogers CTO, said in a statement.