T-Mobile US CEO Mike Sievert (pictured) stated the direct-to-device (D2D) service provisioned by Starlink has ramped up beta testing over the past few weeks, with a commercial launch to follow.

While Sievert did not provide a date for when the commercial service will be available on the company’s Q4 earnings call, he stated it will be “pretty soon”.

He explained the mobile operator is allowing some customers to sign up for an early version of the service, primarily in the northern US where Starlink’s satellite density is higher.

The beta test is supporting texting with voice and data services to follow.

T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced their partnership in 2022, but the launch was delayed due to the satellite provider needing approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

“All this is going to start happening now in kind of rapid succession,” Sievert said. “We’re kind of finally at that moment we’ve been dreaming about on this service.”

The CEO stated the commercial D2D service will help T-Mobile attract and retain customers while also increasing market share. He expects the it will drive T-Mobile subscribers to select more premium tariffs to access the features.

“This will be something that our customers on our most value-packed plans will be able to benefit from, and so that’s an area that we’ll monetise,” he explained.

There is also an opportunity to offer the D2D service a la carte to customers that don’t have the premium tariffs.

“We see things coming together pretty quickly, so that’s really exciting,” he said.

Sievert stated he doesn’t foresee the D2D service being offered in rural areas for home broadband, due in part because Starlink is already providing broadband in some areas.

“I don’t want to speak for them, but they have more demand for their service than capacity right now, and so they can sell everything they have available without any help from us,” he noted.

“They are launching a lot, and so those curves may cross at some point, and we’d be delighted to be their partner.”

It emerged early this week that T-Mobile’s beta test also added support for a limited number of iPhones, after previously only providing compatibility for certain Samsung devices.

Q4 metrics
Sievert and his executive team had plenty to brag about during the earnings call, including the addition of 903,000 post-paid phone subscribers, which topped rivals AT&T and Verizon.

Sievert stated T-Mobile is rapidly gaining market share across the post-paid sector due to gains in smaller markets and rural areas.

The operator’s post-paid service revenue of $13.5 billion grew by 8 per cent year-over-year, which the CEO noted is more than double its peers.

The company added 428,000 fixed wireless access (FWA) internet customers in the quarter to bring its total to 6.4 million.

Its post-paid phone additions are down 3.3 per cent while FWA subscribers decreased by 20.9 per cent from a year ago.

T-Mobile forecast total post-paid net customer additions to be between 5.5 million and 6 million in 2025, with approximately half of that total being post-paid phone net adds. CFO Peter Osvaldik stated those numbers are T-Mobile’s highest ever beginning of the year guide.

Revenue came in at $21.8 billion for an 8 per cent increase.  Net income increased 48 per cent to $3 billion and was up 36 percent in 2024 to $11.3 billion, which marked the company’s highest full year gain.

Sievert stated the addition of telecoms veteran Srinivasan Gopalan as T-Mobile’s incoming COO will allow him to focus on longer term opportunities and strategy.