SpaceX launched 21 Starlink satellites into space, setting into motion plans for the satellite communications provider to begin linking Earth-bound smartphones beginning later this year.

The Starlink satellites were launched into space on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Six of the 21 satellites launched included Starlink’s Direct to Cell capabilities.

Those Starlink Direct to Cell satellites act as small cell towers in space. They include an eNodeB modem that is similar to what is housed within ground-based cell towers. This allows the Starlink satellites to connect to unmodified cell phones on the ground using standard cellular spectrum. The Starlink satellites can also connect to the satellite provider’s ground network to help power services from operator partners.

Starlink has signed Direct to Cell service arrangements with a handful of service providers, including T-Mobile in the United States, Rogers in Canada, KDDI in Japan, Optus in Australia, One NZ in New Zealand, Salt in Switzerland, and Entel in Chile and Peru.

The Starlink service will initially use 4G LTE technology to provide text messaging services between ground-based devices beginning later this year. Starlink plans to add voice, data and IoT services beginning in 2025.

Starlink’s satellites operate in low-Earth orbit (LEO), which means they operate relatively close to Earth at a height of less than 1,000 kilometers and are able to make a full Earth orbit in around 90 minutes. This allows a LEO constellation to provide relatively low latency compared to satellites that operate in medium-Earth orbit (MEO) at the expense of coverage per satellite.

ABI Research recently predicted the satellite-based broadband market could generate $124.6 billion in service revenues by 2030, citing market opportunities like IoT, backhaul, commercial broadband and mobile satellite services.

“We are seeing that the market is evolving quickly, and many services are finding enhanced deployment through strategic alliances and from increased bandwidth supply in LEO,” Jake Saunders, VP of Asia Pacific at ABI Research, wrote. “With satellites becoming smaller, more affordable, and reaching closer orbits, the barriers to entry have been lowered, fostering innovation and expanding the scope of satellite-based services and applications. The market is revealing new development paths that will influence the terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity markets and shape enterprise opportunities throughout the telecommunications value chain.”

Starlink is viewed as an early leader in the space due to its LEO capabilities and vertical integration with parent company SpaceX. Other providers in the space include AST SpaceMobile, which has been working with operators AT&T and Vodafone on 4G LTE and 5G-based satellite services, and SES, which recently launched its fifth and sixth satellites into orbit and is working with NTT DoCoMo on private 5G and edge services.

Despite the accolades, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently denied Starlink access to the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. That fund was set up to provide financial support toward expanding the reach of broadband services. Starlink was angling to access nearly $900 million from that fund to help bolster its high-speed broadband offering.

The FCC last year stated that “funding these vast proposed networks would not be the best use of limited Universal Service Fund dollars to bring broadband to unserved areas across the United States.”

“We must put scarce Universal Service dollars to their best possible use as we move into a digital future that demands ever more powerful and faster networks,” FCC Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in the ruling. “We cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering the promised speeds or are not likely to meet program requirements.”

Rosenworcel added that while “Starlink’s technology has real promise,” the need for users to purchase a $600 dish to connect to the service called into question the use of government funds to further support the development and deployment of the service.

That ruling was reconfirmed last month.