Starlink is known for ramping up its 'Direct-To-Cell' service this year, but the company achieved a new milestone with the network called One NZ as they both deliver nationwide satellite texting capabilities for users. The network's subscribers from the 'Land from Down Under' may now take advantage of these satellite texting capabilities for the entire country.
However, it still has its limitations for now, as it is not yet a full-blown access for users and there are certain challenges that it needs to overcome, including the speed of sending and receiving a text via Starlink's satellites.
Starlink Direct-To-Cell Service Now Available Nationwide in New Zealand
One NZ announced that its partnership with SpaceX's Starlink expanded to new heights and lengths, particularly as it was able to launch the satellite texting capabilities to the entirety of New Zealand today. This is part of One NZ's Satellite TXT service which touts Starlink's Direct-To-Cell technology to help users send and receive text messages via satellite.
This is a massive milestone not only for One NZ but also for Starlink which has its proprietary satellite technology already covering the entire country of New Zealand, a first for its global service.
According to One NZ, all subscribed customers are now given a chance to access the satellite TXT service without any additional fees to their plans, with sending or receiving texts usually arriving at an average of 3 minutes, but in several cases reaching up to 10 minutes long.
Read Also: China Guowang Megaconstellation Launches First 10 Internet Satellites to Orbit, Rivaling Starlink
One NZ, Starlink Deliver Satellite Texting But With Limitations
Despite the full-blown service from One NZ and Starlink, there are still several limitations to the satellite texting experience according to the company, particularly as there are only four eligible devices for TXT. This includes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and OPPO Find X8 Pro.
As mentioned earlier, the satellite texting service also takes time before it successfully sends or receives a message.That being said, One NZ assures users that this feature will be available to more devices at a faster rate in the future.
SpaceX Starlink's Direct-To-Cell is Expanding
After initially offering satellite internet to users, SpaceX has delivered massive upgrades for Starlink's service whichfirst allowed users to use it on moving objects like cars, boats, or planes, and then later making it portable.
However, the biggest feature that the company introduced was Direct-To-Cell, with 2024 being the target release date of the company in the United States with T-Mobile to fulfill the service for all. Earlier this month, both Starlink and T-Mobile confirmed that its Direct-To-Cell program is already available for all subscribers to enjoy via the beta, and it does not require specific smartphones to work.
The initial rollout of SpaceX's Direct-To-Cell via Starlink only focuses on text messaging via satellites, and the following years would deliver voice call capabilities, and ultimately, cellular data from space. That being said, Elon Musk previously boasted of Starlink's Direct-To-Cell helping him connect to the internet, more particularly as he used the service to publish a post on X.
While the US leg of Starlink's satellite-to-phone capabilities is still under beta testing, other countries are already stepping up to fully launch the service amongst their subscribers, with One NZ expanding it to New Zealand's entirety,but with limited capabilities for now.
