Starlink will only support texting for now, but T-Mobile has said that the service will eventually expand to browsing and voice. The free beta provides users with high-speed internet connectivity in challenging-to-access areas such as rural locations, concerts, and even airplanes.

Most people with cell phones might not ever experience what it feels like to suddenly find yourself in a dead zone. If you have, maybe you find solace in those brief interruptions without notifications.

Satellite-based communication provider Starlink will start beta testing for satellite-to-cellphone internet connections, it said Friday. As announced by the firm's billionaire owner Elon Musk, also a large political player in US and world politics, the company will start the test phase in three days.

Starlink support appears to be a secret iOS 18.3 feature for iPhones, some of which now support satellite communication services from SpaceX — but only for users invited to join public beta testing of the service on US carrier T-Mobile. This supplements Apple’s existing satellite services supplier, Globalstar.

Following the release of iOS 18.3, some T-Mobile subscribers with a compatible iPhone are being offered beta access to connect to Starlink satellites.

Apple Inc. has been secretly working with SpaceX and T-Mobile US Inc. to add support for the Starlink network in its latest iPhone software, providing an alternative to the company’s in-house satellite-communication service.

T-Mobile's cellular Starlink beta program was initially restricted to five Samsung phone models. But the carrier has quietly expanded it to select iPhones running iOS 18.3.

Apple has been “secretly working” with SpaceX and the result is that the latest iOS software update means iPhones can access Starlink.