American space exploration company, SpaceX is set to launch 12 satellites with Direct to Cell (DTC) capabilities today 25 November.
The company’s announcement on 24 November shows that this is part of a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlinks satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida.
This is just one of a series of satellite launches that SpaceX has been doing recently, with the latest being on 24 November.
Boosting DTC internet
Starlinks launched DTC internet services for some telecom service providers in selected countries on 24 November.
The service is initially available in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, and Switzerland. DTC eliminates internet dead zones, making it possible to access Starlinks network from anywhere the telecom service is available.
According to a tweet by Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, the new DTC setup provides internet connections for mobile devices without the need for any extra equipment or special app. “It just works”, he wrote.
The launch of 12 satellites with DTC capabilities is an addition to other launched satellites. Already, 13 of such DTC satellites were launched on 24 November shortly after the launch of the DTC service.
With more satellites being released into space, Starlinks may have plans to expand the coverage of its DTC services to other countries in the near future, as it has been hitting major milestones in its business lately.
A call to bypass telecom
While Starlinks is working with existing telecom companies in supported countries, SpaceX fans and potential DTC users are calling on Starlinks to completely bypass the telecoms and establish an independent network.
There is also a call for Starlinks to produce a smartphone that operates without existing telecom service providers, with DTC as its exclusive source of internet service.
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