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Katy approves 24-month T‑Mobile agreement for city mobile communications with Starlink support
Summary
Council authorized a 24-month Sourcewell participating-entity enrollment agreement with T‑Mobile to update the city's mobile communications, including satellite fallback through Starlink for messaging and light data.
Katy City Council on Monday approved a 24‑month contract with T‑Mobile USA Inc. to update the city’s mobile communications infrastructure through the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing program (contract no. 031924‑SPT). The contract is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, 2025.
During discussion, council members asked about Starlink capability included in the plan. Daniel Reynolds, who identified himself as a solution engineer for T‑Mobile Government, told the council the phone will automatically see and connect to low‑Earth‑orbit Starlink satellites when a device leaves terrestrial cellular coverage. "As it goes away from cellular coverage, land based, you'll see the T‑Mobile or the Starlink satellite as a T‑Mobile tower and connect to that," Reynolds said. He added that, effective in the near term, T‑Mobile will permit light data on satellite connections (for example maps and light messaging), and that voice calls over the satellite are planned for a later date.
Councilmembers praised the work of city staff to migrate devices; one councilmember said their organization had recently completed a similar change and reported a successful transition. The motion to approve the Sourcewell participating-entity enrollment agreement carried by unanimous roll-call vote on the record.
