T-Mobile has almost made good on its promise to bring satellite texting to its customers before year-end. Yes, the Starlink-powered service technically doesn't go live until early next year, but T-Mobile is working behind the scenes to prepare your phones for the feature.

In late November, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that T-Mobile and SpaceX - the company that operates the Starlink satellite internet constellation - were cleared to launch the Direct to Cell service.

Last week, T-Mobile started accepting applications from customers interested in joining the beta program. The beta will allow the company to test the satellite-to-cell service, or satellite texting to be more specific - and it has a limited number of spots for users who want to experience it.