--- title: "SpaceX Has Plans to Start a Starlink Phone Service" description: "In a filing with the FCC, SpaceX is petitioning for a Starlink phone service, voice calls, and subsidized plans for low income households." date: "2021-02-05" modified: "2021-02-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-has-plans-to-start-a-starlink-phone-service" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "SpaceX" - "starlink" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Has Plans to Start a Starlink Phone Service ![In a filing with the FCC, SpaceX is petitioning for a Starlink phone service, voice calls, and subsidized plans for low income households.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Starlink Phone In a [filing]() with the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX is petitioning for a Starlink phone service, voice calls, and cheaper plans for low income households through the agency's Lifeline program, as [*Ars Technica* reports](). To be clear, SpaceX isn't about to beam gigabytes of data to your smartphone — it's more of a landline solution that uses existing connections, including the public switched telephone network, existing phone circuitry operated by local telecoms. SpaceX outlined plans for VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services in addition to its existing broadband services. Such a service would allow consumers to make voice calls through their Starlink broadband connection. "Consumers will have the option of using a third-party, conventional phone connected to a Session Initiation Protocol standards-compliant analog terminal adaptor or a native-IP phone selected from a list of certified models," the filing reads. ## Proprietary Solutions SpaceX is also looking into "standalone voice applications into the Starlink network, including other third-party providers, or possibly developing its own proprietary solution," but didn't go more into depth. The Elon Musk-led company also petitioned for Lifeline program designation to subsidize their services for low-income consumers. At of the time of writing, [around 10,000 users]() in the US and abroad are using SpaceX's Starlink broadband services for $99 a month, plus a one-time fee of $499. The Lifeline subsidy would only lower that price by $9.25 — a small discount, *Ars* points out, but one that would necessitate further discounts to be truly affordable. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX plans Starlink phone service, emergency backup, and low-income access]() \[*Ars Technica*\] **More on Starlink:** [Elon Musk Says Jeff Bezos Is Trying to Ruin Starlink]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()