T-Mobile told the Public Utilities Commission 9-1-1 Task Force that its satellite service now carries wireless emergency alerts and supports text-to-911 from compatible phones.

"T satellite services were launched back in July on July 23," said Tony Wageman, who oversees architecture and engineering for emergency services at T-Mobile. He said the service provides off-grid coverage to "more than 500,000 square miles of US territory that is not reachable through traditional cell sites." He added that T-Mobiles T-Lite service and satellite capabilities are available to customers of other carriers on compatible devices.

Wageman explained how Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) work over satellite: an approved government agency originates the alert, FEMA validates and distributes it, and T-Mobile broadcasts the alert over terrestrial network and T-Satellite so targeted phones receive the same loud tone and vibration they would on terrestrial networks.

On text-to-911, Wageman said the company launched "T satellite text for everyone" on Nov. 5 and that messages from off-grid users route through T-Mobiles messaging network to a text control center and then to a concierge call center. "All text to 911 sessions that originate over T satellite are going to be delivered to the concierge call center first," he said; the concierge call center collects location and incident details and places voice calls to the most appropriate off-grid 911 authority, maintaining three-way communication as needed.

Task force chair Carl asked whether text-to-911 messages sent while on satellite would be delivered directly to local centers that already receive texts; Tony confirmed satellite-originated sessions go to the concierge call center first and the concierge then contacts the appropriate authority.

The presentation noted there are more than 60 compatible phones today and that features such as location sharing and emergency alerts are supported. T-Mobile said it will continue expanding supported devices and is open to questions from PSAPs about implementation.