Back to top

Image: Bigstock

TMUS Introduces Direct-to-Cell Services With Starlink: Stock to Gain?

Read MoreHide Full Article

T-Mobile, US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) recently announced that it has opened registration for a beta program offering direct-to-cell (“DTC”) satellite service in collaboration with Starlink. The beta program is available for all of T-Mobile’s postpaid voice customers with a compatible device. Initially, it will support text messaging only with voice and data services expected to be introduced in the future.

The major development commenced earlier in 2024 when TMUS and SpaceX collaborated to launch Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell technology. Starlink’s advanced direct-to-cell technology delivers consistent text, voice and data services for LTE phones worldwide, even in hard-to-reach locations where ground-network infrastructure is limited. Seamless integration of Starlink’s direct-to-cell with TMUS’s terrestrial network will likely ensure a user-friendly and intuitive experience to its users compared with other direct-to-cell services available in the market.

Despite the rapid deployment of 5G infrastructure, a vast area of the United States has remained outside of the network coverage area. Remote locations and sparsely populated areas are often deemed economically non feasible for network infrastructure deployment by telecom enterprises. Moreover, geographically challenging terrain poses another layer of difficulty for setting up ground-network infrastructure. This restricts the residents of those areas from accessing to several critical services spanning from finance, education, emergency services and healthcare.

Will This Collaboration Drive TMUS’ Share Performance?

T-Mobile and Starlink boast a shared vision of achieving universal coverage. The collaboration has pledged to eliminate the issues with network dead zones, need for costly satellite phones and expand connectivity to more than half a million square miles across the United States which is out of network coverage. Moreover, T-Mobile and Starlink are expanding their collaborating effort to wireless providers around the world.

The beta test of TMUS’ direct-to-cell service will launch in the next year. This has major significance for businesses and first responder agencies operating in remote locations. In the future TMUS plans to eventually launch services throughout the United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and parts of Alaska. Strategic collaboration with Starlink underscores TMUS' strong emphasis on expanding its services beyond the company’s terrestrial network coverage area to expand and support its client base. This customer-oriented strategy bodes well for long-term growth.

TMUS Stock’s Price Movement

Shares of T-Mobile have gained 46.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 30.7%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

TMUS’ Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

T-Mobile currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Here are some better-ranked stocks that investors may consider.

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (KEYS - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 5.10%. Keysight is expected to benefit from the growing proliferation of electronic content in vehicles, momentum in space and satellite applications, and rising adoption of driver-assistance systems globally.

InterDigital (IDCC - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 114.47%.

It is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and capabilities. The company designs and develops a wide range of advanced technology solutions used in digital cellular, wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and networks.

Plexus Corp. (PLXS - Free Report) flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. It is a leading electronic contract manufacturing services provider to original equipment manufacturers in a wide range of industries. In the last reported quarter, PLXS delivered an earnings surprise of 20.92%.

Published in