Using Speedtest data, Ookla has taken a look at the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service across T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and FirstNet users in the US. Speedtest data highlights the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, which works on most new iOS and Android smartphones released in the past 2-4 years. The service is available to T-Mobile customers as well as customers of AT&T, Verizon and other providers.

Ookla says: “As of September 2025, T-Mobile customers remained the biggest group of users connecting to SpaceX’s D2D satellites. But AT&T customers have also displayed a clear interest in the offering.”

The findings:

· AT&T customers accounted for around a third of all T-Satellite connections during this 10-month period. T-Mobile customers accounted for roughly 60 per cent of the connections.

· Los Angeles County, California, was the country’s most popular location for T-Satellite activity.

· Los Angeles County contains both the city of Los Angeles and Angeles National Forest, an area known for its rugged mountains, steep canyons, and extensive trail systems. It’s also where T-Mobile deployed free T-Satellite text messaging services in the early days of 2025, amid multiple wildfires. Cellular coverage throughout the northern portion of Los Angeles County is poor or nonexistant:

· The median download and upload speeds of Starlink’s fixed internet service showed no signs of degradation amid the testing and launch of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service this year. That’s likely due to the fact that Starlink’s smartphone-capable satellites are different from those supporting its fixed internet service.

Ookla explained: “Direct to device (D2D) technology connects smartphones directly to satellites for text messaging and other services, primarily in outdoor, rural areas where no other connections exist. Those satellites are hundreds of miles above the Earth, traveling thousands of miles an hour. Thus, such phone-to-satellite connections represent an impressive technological feat considering standard, terrestrial cellular networks connect smartphones to stationary cell towers that are on the ground, usually just a few miles away.”

“Apple, via Globalstar’s satellites and spectrum holdings, pioneered the D2D market. Every iPhone since the iPhone 14, introduced in 2022, can send and receive text messages through these satellites. In September, Apple expanded D2D into its lineup of smartwatches,” added Ookla’s report.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Mobile, Research, Satellite

Tags: d2d, Ookla, starlink, T-Mobile