BT in talks with Musk’s Starlink over satellite phone services

BT IS in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink over a satellite phone and broadband service that could help tackle the plague of so-called rural not spots.

The telecoms giant is testing Starlink equipment as it explores ways to deliver connections to hard-to-reach areas.

Mr Musk’s company operates a network of roughly 5,000 satellites that orbit 350 miles above the earth and beam down signals.

BT has been mulling using the network for broadband services, but bosses are also keen to harness the technology to improve mobile signals.

The former telecoms monopoly has previously signed ad hoc deals with Mr Musk’s company outside the UK. However, no formal agreement has yet been reached in Britain. Should BT sign a direct to mobile deal with Starlink, it may need to secure a special licence from the regulator Ofcom.

The talks come amid doubts over the prospects for the London-based satellite firm Oneweb, with which BT inked a partnership in 2021. Oneweb was handed a £400m bailout by the Government during the pandemic amid concerns China could seek to take control of the struggling business.

It has since merged with the French space company Eutelsat, but the value of the taxpayer’s stake has more than halved because of a share price slump.

Starlink last week conducted its first successful test of the satellites to send and receive text messages with unmodified smartphones.

Talks are focused on BT’S business offering, allowing it to deliver mobile and broadband services to remote sites such as oil rigs and mines.

But the technology is also expected to be rolled out to consumers in an effort to plug gaps that traditional cables and masts cannot reach.

Starlink has been used widely by Ukrainian forces for battlefield communications in the war with Russia.

Virgin Media O2 has trialled Starlink at a remote location in Wales. Vodafone is trialling services with Texas-based AST Space Mobile and Amazon.