T-Mobile partners with SpaceX

T-Mobile will use SpaceX satellites to expand the carrier’s coverage to remote parts of the United States, the companies said Thursday.

The partnership will allow T-Mobile, the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, to tap into the constellation of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to provide service to customers in areas with no cell towers.

T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, said more than 500,000 square miles of the United States does not have cell coverage.

“This partnership is the end of mobile dead zones,” T-Mobile chief executive Mike Sievert said at a Thursday news conference with SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

“This is important for safety, it is important for contact with the people we love, and it is important for people in rural areas.”

T-Mobile will begin using Starlink satellites to test messaging services in remote areas by the end of next year, before expanding to data and voice coverage, Sievert said.

Amazon closing health service

Amazon is shutting down its fledgling health care service, Amazon Care, at the end of this year.

Amazon launched Amazon Care in 2019 as a pilot program for its Seattle-area employees before expanding to other employers in Washington and nationwide.

The service incorporates a telehealth app, prescription delivery and the option to schedule a visit with a physician at patients’ homes and offices.

In February, Amazon said it expected to roll out in-person services to 20 new cities this year.

From wire reports