Japanese Company KDDI launch Starlink

A Japanese telecom giant has launched a service with Starlink that allows customers to communicate in areas outside regular cell-phone coverage. KDDI said its “au” cellphones are connected directly to the Starlink satellite network run by US aerospace company SpaceX. The service started on Thursday.

KDDI announced au customers can send and receive text messages, share their location data and receive earthquake alerts no matter where they are. That includes in the mountains, at sea and other places not covered by conventional base stations. Other Japanese telecoms are also working on building new infrastructure in the atmosphere and space. NTT Docomo and Softbank are developing its HAPS system, which uses unmanned aircraft.