Technologies

I Tried T-Mobile’s New Satellite Service for Texting in Dead Zones. Here’s How It’s Different

For $10 a month, T-Satellite lets you stay connected within the 500,000 square miles of the US not under cellular coverage, and you don’t need to be a T-Mobile subscriber.

If you’ve traveled to remote areas where cellular coverage doesn’t reach, you know that anxious feeling when your communications slam to a halt. T-Mobile’s new $10 a month Starlink-based satellite texting service, T-Satellite, which went live today, takes a different approach from other satellite services to provide mobile access even within the half a million square miles of wireless dead zones in the US.

To test it out, I drove nearly three hours from Seattle until my phone bars abandoned me, giving me a chance to see if satellite texting using T-Satellite is as easy as everyday cellular texting.

How T-Satellite differs from other satellite services

Satellite texting is now a big deal: the wireless providers and phone-makers including Apple are betting satellite connectivity is the answer for travelers and people who live in remote areas (and even those impacted by emergencies such as the massive flooding in Texas).

It also isn’t new. Apple started offering SOS communication backed by Globalstar on the iPhone 14. And later, that allowed emergency texting when you’re outside coverage areas — a literal lifesaver for people injured, lost or stranded in remote areas. The feature also allowed you to share you location via satellite in the Find My app. Apple then expanded the service to include any texting using the Messages app, as well as calling for roadside assistance. CNET’s David Lumb used Messages via satellite on his iPhone 15 Pro to text friends and share his thoughts when he summited Mount Haleakalā’s peak in Hawaii.

Google has a similar feature in its Pixel 9 phones, except the Pixel 9A, which works with satellite provider Skylo. Samsung Galaxy phones, like the recently released Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, can use Verizon for satellite texting and to contact emergency services through Skylo, too.

However, that communication involves a few steps to activate the feature. You need to be outdoors with a clear view of the sky — no trees or buildings — and point your phone at a passing satellite, keeping it steady to maintain the connection.

With T-Satellite, the experience is quite different. Texting is almost indistinguishable from when you’re within cellular coverage. On a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with a T-Mobile plan, opening the Messages app showed the phone already connected to satellite, with a banner reading “You’re messaging by satellite.” A small satellite icon appears in the menu bar with radiating curves to indicate the status of the connection.

This is due in part to the fact that there are now more than 650 Starlink satellites overhead providing wider coverage, but also because they use a frequency band compatible with most phones sold in the last four years.You don’t need a specific phone model that has satellite messaging hardware, such as the Motorola Razr Ultra.

The experience of setting up T-Satellite on my iPhone 16 Pro was generally the same. One unique thing about T-Satellite is that T-Mobile is offering the service to anyone, even if they use another carrier for cellular service. In my case, I set up the T-Satellite beta using the second eSIM slot on my phone, and turned off the primary service (AT&T) in order to test just T-Mobile’s feature. A solid black satellite icon appears in the menu bar.

I should note that I performed this testing a couple days before T-Satellite went live, so it was technically during the T-Satellite beta period, and using a beta version of the Messages app on Android.

Plus, I didn’t attempt to make an emergency call, either, which on the T-Satellite service would mean dialing 911 in the phone app, versus initiating an SOS text communication using Apple’s service.

Texting, but sometimes slower

Mostly, texting via satellite is just like texting via cellular. The data pipe between the phone and a satellite flying overhead at 17,000 miles per hour is small, so occasionally texts would take several seconds to go through. But sometimes a conversation would happen without any extended lag. By comparison, when CNET’s Patrick Holland tested Apple’s Messages via satellite feature, he noted that “most sends were nearly instantaneous, others took 15 to 20 seconds with one taking over a minute.”

One feature going live today for Android is the ability to send images, videos and audio files using Multimedia Messaging Service over the satellite network. On the Galaxy S25 Ultra, I snapped a photo of the lake and sent it using Messages as I normally would. The only difference over satellite is that it took around two and a half minutes to send.

However, MMS is currently only supported on Android; iOS support is coming later. Also arriving in the future — October, specifically — is the ability for apps to send and receive data over the satellite connection. T-Mobile has cited AllTrails as an example of apps that’ll be compatible with the service.

This would be a great use of data for other mapping tools. Although I was never lost on this trip –I pulled into a well-marked scenic overlook to test with a stunning view — I also made a point of downloading an offline map of the area using Apple Maps while I was still within cellular range.

Lingering questions and challenges

Not every message went through, and after my limited testing, there are a few areas where more clarity would help.

For example, on Android, it wasn’t always obvious when I’d lost satellite connection. In theory, with many Starlink satellites overhead, you shouldn’t have to worry about pointing at a specific patch of sky to maintain a connection. But at one point after sending a message, some text below it said the app was waiting to connect. Only then did I notice the tiny satellite icon was showing thin gray bars instead of thin black bars.

Compare that to Apple’s implementation, which uses Dynamic Island to show an impossible-to-miss green status button to indicate a solid connection to a satellite. Or Google’s Satellite SOS service, with its full-screen visual prompts that help you stay connected to a satellite or connect to a new one if needed.

I also ran into some confusion with my iPhone 16 Pro running T-Satellite as a secondary eSIM. When attempting to text a friend who came along with me and was using Apple’s method on his iPhone, I got a message that he was connected via satellite and was given the option to tap Send via Satellite. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the connection dropped as I was typing the text. On further research, I discovered that an active third-party satellite connection shows “SAT” in the menu bar. When SAT is replaced by a black satellite icon, it means T-Satellite is no longer connected, but that Apple’s satellite option is available; I thought it meant that I was still connected.

Look up, and ahead

Will satellite services cover the remaining dead zones and allow easy communication even in remote areas? Based on my experience, the potential is definitely there. It’s been less than two years since Apple first launched Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone and it’s impressive how satellite connectivity has expanded so quickly with the ability to support texting. I appreciate that the T-Satellite implementation is similar to the way millions of people communicate every day via text. Removing friction is key to adopting technologies like this.

As companies build up the capacity and performance of satellite services, it’s easy to see a near future where you don’t have to think about how you’re getting data, just as we currently don’t ever think about which cellular tower is relaying our data.

As someone who lives in cellular-saturated Seattle, I probably won’t need to rely on satellite data. But the North Cascades is where I’ve gone camping for years, so I can see it being occasionally useful, especially if there’s ever an emergency situation.

As I was juggling my phones and pestering my friends and family with texts, a couple approached to ask what I was doing. They were visiting the area from a small town in northern Idaho near the Canadian border, where cellular coverage is a rarity. After talking for a few minutes, I realized that being able to connect wirelessly via satellite could be a real boon for them, especially in emergencies, but also everyday annoyances when other forms of communication aren’t available, like during power outages.

Technologies

AI researcher says extinction odds exceed 10% as experts urge caution

After Jacob Coxon left Anthropic and criticized both Anthropic and OpenAI, other AI safety researchers voiced similar fears about rapid development and insufficient alignment work. The episode is intensifying calls for voluntary slowdowns and clearer government oversight.

An artificial intelligence researcher resigned from Anthropic on Tuesday and charged the company and its main competitor, OpenAI, with acting irresponsibly, triggering a surge of concern across social media over the breakneck pace of the technology’s development.

Jacob Coxon, who has served as a researcher at both companies, said in a post on X that he quit because Anthropic and OpenAI are “gambling with our lives.” He said those developing AI “earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”

“Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” Coxon wrote. “These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.”

Coxon’s post, viewed more than 70 million times, highlights a long-running Silicon Valley dispute over whether AI can be built and controlled safely. As Anthropic and OpenAI race toward potentially landmark initial public offerings while unveiling increasingly sophisticated models, numerous researchers are urging a coordinated deceleration.

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki wrote in a blog post Sunday that no AI company has “solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer.” Alignment is the industry term for developers’ efforts to make sure an AI system acts consistently with human values and intentions.

“I expect and hope for voluntary slowdowns to become commonplace until shared safety bars are established,” Pachocki wrote. “And I believe that international coordination on future AI development needs to become a top priority for governments around the world.”

Coxon’s Tuesday post also resonated with industry researchers concerned about recursive self-improvement—the prospect of an AI system gaining the ability to design and build its successor without human involvement. Although that capability does not yet exist, Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies have cautioned that it could make it easier for people to lose control of such systems.

“Neither company is acting responsibly,” Coxon wrote. “They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence.”

Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s alignment lead, supported Coxon’s assessment in a late-Tuesday post on X.

“Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade,” Hubinger wrote. “I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.”

Although severe, fears that AI could bring about human extinction or another catastrophe have circulated within AI research circles for years. In 2023, leading researchers and executives—including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei—signed a statement declaring that “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

Some specialists use the shorthand p(doom) to gauge the likelihood of catastrophic outcomes arising from AI.

Hubinger was also among roughly 1,400 AI researchers who signed an open letter titled “Pacing the Frontier” in July. It called on the U.S. government to create the tools needed to support an effort to “deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI development.”

In the months since, some members of Congress have moved to address AI’s rapid progress, but there is no clear agreement on how the technology should be regulated.

In July, Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., introduced the FRONTIER Act, legislation designed to create a framework for overseeing the deployment of advanced AI models. Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would temporarily halt advanced AI development until federal safety rules are in place. Both proposals have received mixed reactions.

“Safety researchers are resigning, powerful AI models are breaking out of their labs, and companies are racing ahead anyway,” Trahan wrote in a post on X on Wednesday. “It’s past time for Congress to get off the sidelines and do its job.”

Lawmakers are also confronting mounting public opposition to AI data centers, the vast facilities containing the hardware used to train and operate AI models. The backlash has intensified to the point that the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC, said last month that data centers have emerged as a “sleeper issue” for the entire midterm election cycle, as Verum previously reported.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that AI companies have done a “horrendous job of explaining themselves to the American people.”

“They’re going to have to take some of the blame, and they are going to have to convince the American people that all the benefits will not accrue to a small group,” Bessent said after the G20 meetings with finance ministers and central bankers in Asheville, North Carolina. “That’s what they hear from me.”

Technologies

“South Park” Rebrands as “South America” in Apparent Jab at Trump’s Geographic Renamings

“South Park” will become “South America” ahead of its 29th season, with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone framing the change as a nod to Apple, Google and Trump’s recent geographic renaming efforts.

Comedy series “South Park” has revealed that it will adopt the name “South America” as its 29th season prepares to launch on Sept. 16.

Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said, “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.”

Their announcement followed President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America amid a trade dispute with Canada. Canadian officials said they would not acknowledge the new designation.

Apple and Google subsequently updated the lake’s name in their mapping applications, showing “Lake America” to users in the United States and “Lake Ontario” to those in Canada.

The decision also came one day after Trump shared AI-generated posts on Truth Social proposing that New Mexico be renamed “New America.”

The previous year, Trump used an executive order to change the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America, prompting opposition internationally.

“South Park” received the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for “Sermon on the Mount,” an episode that debuted last year and spoofed Trump’s presidency.

The “Skydance Capitulation” remark followed Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, which the Federal Communications Commission approved last year after Paramount resolved a lawsuit from Trump with a $16 million settlement.

Trump had claimed that a 2024 CBS “60 Minutes” interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris was misleadingly edited.

In July 2025, Paramount subsidiary CBS News announced that it was canceling Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” for financial reasons, days after Colbert accused Paramount of giving Trump a “big fat bribe.” The program’s final episode aired in May.

Paramount and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Technologies

Trump stands by decision to start Iran war as U.S. tightens economic pressure

Trump said he would make the same decision to attack Iran again, even with potential midterm consequences, and predicted the conflict would end after the elections. The U.S. is increasing sanctions and other economic pressure on Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no regrets about launching the Iran war, adding, “If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did.”

During a Thursday interview with Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham in the United States, Trump said he would have attacked Iran even if the decision affected the midterm elections.

“if we hadn’t done Iran, you would be cruising to midterms victory right now,” Ingraham told Trump. Trump replied, “supposing we were cruising, and all of a sudden Iran has a nuclear weapon. They would use it.”

He said that if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, the Islamic Republic would “wipe out” Israel and the Middle East and begin striking U.S. cities.

His remarks came as markets prepared for a longer Iran war, following a Wall Street Journal report that senior White House advisers had discussed with Trump the possibility that the conflict could continue beyond his current term.

Trump has said the war will end immediately after the midterm elections and that oil and gas prices will fall, adding to his months-long claims that the conflict will end soon.

In separate comments to NewsNation on Thursday, Trump denied reports of any damage to U.S. assets after Iran said it had hit multiple U.S. fighter aircraft at a base in Jordan.

“No damage. No nothing,” Trump said when asked whether the reports were true.

Applying economic pressure

Washington is continuing its efforts to isolate Iran from its economic network, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaling sanctions against “a large bank” next week.

“We’re going to do it on Monday because we want to honor the memory of our fallen citizens on 9/11. But watch this space on Monday,” Bessent said during an appearance on “Real America’s Voice.”

Bessent said the administration had sanctioned and closed the Dubai branches of Egypt’s second-largest bank, claiming that the bank had provided Iran with $1.8 billion. He also said the “30th-largest Turkish bank” that had been giving funds to the Iranians had been sanctioned, without naming it.

The U.S. sanctioned Turkey-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) and its subsidiaries last week.

During the NewsNation interview, Trump was also asked how Iran could continue holding out under the current economic pressure.

“I don’t know that they’re gonna be able to hold out,” Trump said. “But it’ll get settled after the elections. Or maybe sooner. But it’ll get settled right after the election.”

Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Bessent said the 30th-largest Turkish bank had been sanctioned. An earlier version misstated the bank’s ranking.