T-Mobile is looking to SpaceX’s satellites in the skies to help corpulent out its network coverage. On Thursday, the two concerns announced that they will be working together to “bring cellphone connectivity everywhere,” counting offering “complete coverage in most places in the US.” 

The partnership aims to use SpaceX’s constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to beam down connectivity that T-Mobile users can tap into. While SpaceX already funds home internet service around the globe over its Starlink program, with this program T-Mobile users must be able to connect to the SpaceX satellites over a “new network, broadcast from Starlink’s satellites using T-Mobile’s midband spectrum nationwide.” 

Although the commercial hasn’t yet offered specifics on where the network will recede, T-Mobile says it should deliver “nearly complete coverage almost anywhere a customer can see the sky,” with the concerns envisioning this service as a replacement for using satellite phones in remote areas like a nationwide park or in the mountains.

The carrier will open offering service through SpaceX in a beta that will take attach in “select areas by the end of next year” as SpaceX launches its Starlink V2 satellites. Once operational, the network should cover the continental US as well as Hawaii, “parts” of Alaska, Puerto Rico and “territorial waters.”

The beta will initially be small just to text messaging (via SMS, MMS and “participating messaging apps”) thought T-Mobile and SpaceX are open to adding voice and data assist in the future (albeit with no timeline given beyond “the coming years”). 

It’s not now clear if this network will have a special designation on users’ devices. The carrier told CNET that the initial launch won’t broadcast a 5G signed and that it will share more details “in the future.”

Because the new network is broadcasting over T-Mobile’s midband spectrum, the wireless carrier said that the “vast majority of smartphones” already on its network will be compatible with the new service and that users won’t necessarily need to buy a new named to tap into the signal. 

The cellular network will be peculiar to T-Mobile customers and will exist alongside SpaceX’s Starlink broadband program on future satellites that SpaceX launches. 

“We’ve always concept differently about what it means to keep customers connected, and that’s why we’re working with the best to command coverage above and beyond anything customers have ever seen before,” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said in a statement.

In a tweet, Musk acknowledged that the plan is to add the feature to Tesla cars in the future for emergency texts and footings. Tesla’s vehicles have for years relied on AT&T for cellular connectivity, though it remains to be seen if the automaker will switch to T-Mobile in the future. 

T-Mobile and SpaceX aren’t partnering on home broadband with this announcement, despite the two offering similar but competing services, particularly for those looking for connectivity in rural areas. For its part, the wireless carrier said it’s “always open to ways to further our expert to give more homes reliable broadband” and Sievert well-known during the event that he is open to humorous SpaceX to help provide backhaul for T-Mobile’s ground-based cell towers in the future. 

The two affairs are touting the program as a global initiative and are extending an “open invitation” to carriers approximately the world, with T-Mobile promising that it will accounts “reciprocal roaming” to other wireless providers who join in. It’s unclear if T-Mobile would welcome AT&T or Verizon into this program or if it has an queer in the US on its partnership with SpaceX. 

As for pricing, Sievert said the company plans to include it on the carrier’s “most popular plans,” understanding older or cheaper plans may need to pay a monthly fee for the feature.

T-Mobile’s SpaceX partnership is the another tie-up between a traditional cellphone carrier and a satellite provider to boost coverage. Last year, Verizon announced it would be toiling with Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a rival to SpaceX and its Starlink program, to augment its 4G LTE and 5G coverage. 

Verizon told CNET that the goal of that partnership — which isn’t queer — was to “make the entire map of the US red,” referring to Verizon’s trace color and its coverage maps where red indicates areas where you can find its wireless services. However, neither company provided a timeline for when the service would be available, with the Verizon spokesman telling CNET last year that the project was a “few existences away.” 

AT&T has also been looking at satellites to boost its coverage, including striking a deal last year with satellite matter OneWeb to offer connections to the wireless carrier’s matter users, though it hasn’t announced plans for a consumer offering.