May 22, 2024 4:43 p.m. PT 3 min read SpaceX's Starship rocket is shown on the launchpad in March 2024. In January, SpaceX launched its first six phone-connecting satellites into orbit. Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images Starlink, SpaceX's network of satellites in low Earth orbit, has ambitious plans with T-Mobile to bring full cell service to less-populated areas where customers have previously struggled to connect. SpaceX demonstrated this technology on Tuesday with a video call. In the demo, two SpaceX employees test the technology with a video call using the video-calling feature of X, formerly Twitter. It's the first such call that uses Starlink's Direct to Cell satellite service, a project that SpaceX has been working with T-Mobile to build since 2022. While no official launch date has been announced for the service, SpaceX said in a tweet that the company is "excited to go live with T-Mobile later this year." Representatives for SpaceX and T-Mobile didn't respond immediately to requests for comment. The demo was run on unmodified smartphones. That means consumers likely won't need specialized tools or a new phone to use the service when it eventually rolls out. This fulfills T-Mobile's original promise that "the vast majority of smartphones already on T-Mobile's network will be compatible." For the time being, SpaceX has been using T-Mobile's PCG G Block bands to perform its testing as per the company's FCC filings.