According to CEO Elon Musk, the upcoming second-generation Starlink internet satellites include cellular antennas for connections with phones on various network operators. Initially only announced for T-Mobile, Musk was later asked on Twitter whether the new connections will work with Tesla cars, which is currently running on AT&T. He replied that it will indeed work on his other company’s cars, regardless on which network they will eventually be running.
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Musk didn’t give any other information regarding how this will work, or how much data owners could expect to access from the connections when they’re somewhere out of reach by terrestrial towers. During the initial announcement event, he said that the satellite-to-cellular coverage from Starlink will be capable of providing a 2-4 Mbps link. This connection is then shared by everyone in the coverage area that satellite serves.
While it is a boon for users to always have cellular connectivity regardless of where they are, it won’t be fast enough for the more premium features some people use in their cars, like live-streaming video from their car’s cameras.
Tesla has scaled back the connectivity packages that come standard with its electric vehicles over the last several years. Cars purchased before the end of June 2018 include Premium Connectivity at no extra charge, while cars purchased before July 20th, 2022, all include at least the standard connectivity package with in-car maps and navigation. Those connections are available for the lifetime of the vehicle, “excluding retrofits or upgrades required for any features or services externally supplied to the vehicle.” Adding the Premium Connectivity subscription to a Tesla that doesn’t have it currently costs $9.99 per month, or $99 annually.
It will be an interesting test bed for this fledging type of connectivity. Most drivers can expect to be connected wherever they are in the years to come.
