Following the news that T-Mobile announced in a Super Bowl 2025 ad that it will offer beta testing of its T-Mobile Starlink satellite cellular service to customers of all three US major carriers for free through July 2025; Nicole Teasley, Senior Technology Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:
“T-Mobile is redefining the US market's understanding of space connectivity as a critical competitive factor. The company has established itself as a provider of emergency connectivity, as showcased in its 60-second Super Bowl commercial for the T-Mobile Starlink Direct to Cell service. T-Mobile has outpaced competitors Verizon and AT&T by extending its service for free to the customers of its rival carriers.
“Leveraging its partnership with Starlink, T-Mobile launched a nationwide offer to beta test the same service that enabled communication during hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the recent wildfires in Los Angeles. This comes on the heels of Verizon's Grammy's advertisement, which promoted similar services not yet active on its network. Although Verizon has implemented direct messaging services on some of the latest Google and Samsung phones, AT&T and Verizon remain in the preliminary testing phases of comparable services with AST Space Mobile and are currently unable to offer these services on the extensive suite of Apple, Google, and Samsung phones compatible with T-Mobile's Starlink.
“By extending T-Mobile Starlink and its Backup Home Internet solution as stand-alone products, T-Mobile brings to market a suite of services with a compelling narrative that positions it as a connectivity insurance policy for all customers within the US cable, broadband, and mobile sectors.”