在 Hacker News 上看到 Starlink 打算跟 T-Mobile 合作，直接用衛星提供 5G 訊號讓地面手機使用：「SpaceX, T-Mobile to connect satellites to cellphones in remote areas (wsj.com)」，原報導在 WSJ 的「SpaceX, T-Mobile to Connect Satellites to Cellphones in Remote Areas」這邊，另外因為 paywall 的關係，可以在這邊讀。

會用二代衛星：

Mr. Musk said the service would use second-generation Starlink satellites that would be outfitted with large antennas that cover swaths of land that have no service. SpaceX has a pending application before the FCC to launch around 30,000 of the second-generation satellites over time.

在另外一篇報導「SpaceX and T-Mobile team up to use Starlink satellites to ‘end mobile dead zones’」裡面有提到更細一點，不是衛星電話，是目前一般的手機：

The service won’t require mobile users to get a new phone. Musk said in or after a natural disaster, even if all the cell towers are taken out, the planned service should work.

不過可以預期只會有很基本的服務 (大概確保通話與簡訊會通)，針對緊急危難狀況會特別有幫助：

Mr. Musk said that the bandwidth would be limited and that the new satellite service wouldn’t supplant existing ground-based cellular services. “This is meant to provide basic coverage to areas that are completely dead,” he said.

翻了翻 wiki，目前 Starlink 第一代衛星的軌道高度是 340km 左右，好像還不確定二代衛星會在哪個高度...

Hacker News 上有蠻多人在算技術上的可行性，除了訊號強度外，衛星與地面相對速度比目前地面上的交通工具都快，都卜勒效應 (Doppler effect) 看起來也是個會影響很多的主題...

不過討論裡面有提到 2021 年就已經有其他商用公司在幹類似的事情，所以看起來不只是講講而已？應該是有些可能性：「Lynk demos global satellite connection for ordinary phones and prepares for commercial launch」。

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