Remember the "Can You Hear Me Now" character from the Verizon commercials more than a decade ago? He's returned to the telecom giant's orbit – literally.

The Verizon "Test Man" reappears at the end of a new commercial, already posted online and airing during the 67th Grammy Awards broadcast on Sunday. Also starring in the ad, Buzz Aldrin, who is seen testing Verizon's network making sure that what once were connectivity dead zones are now being served.

In the new commercial, Aldrin sends texts to ensure they go through, typing, "Can you text me now?" Eventually, the Verizon "Test Man" is revealed to be receiving the texts while hovering in space next to an orbiting satellite. "That's my line," he says. Then, adding, "Where's my helmet?"

Then, Aldrin gives a nod to fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong saying, "That's one giant leap for connectivity."

When most of us last saw Paul Marcarelli, the actor who plays the "Test Man," he appeared in a 2016 commercial touting the improvements Verizon competitor Sprint had made in its network. His last commercial for Verizon was in 2014.

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"I was so excited to get called back for this, because when I was last working for Verizon the campaign was very much about conquering dead zones," Marcarelli told USA TODAY.

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"It really is the most remote areas in the land where you can't rely on a text (getting) through," he said. "Now using satellite to conquer these dead zones, it seemed like a perfect fit and the right time for me to come back."

Verizon's increased use of satellite connections

Currently, cellular-to-satellite links help enable text messages, emergency SOS messages, and location sharing when a terrestrial cellular network is not available. Additional texting and data features will be available with Verizon's investment of $100 million into its partnership with AST SpaceMobile, which has targeted the creation of a seamless satellite-based broadband network. (AT&T and Vodafone are other AST partners.)

The commercial highlights Verizon's current use of satellite "so customers can stay connected," said Joe Russo, Verizon's executive vice president and president of global networks and technology.

Additional satellite capabilities will soon give consumers connectivity outside of Verizon's coverage area, which encompasses 99% of where people reside in the U.S., he told USA TODAY. "It's in the latest devices and it gives our customers now the opportunity, if they are outside of our terrestrial coverage footprint, to connect to a now satellite network to do emergency and texting."

Satellite connections will eventually allow customers to get data streams and do more than texting, Russo said. AST Mobile on Thursday got approval from the Federal Communications Commission to test satellite connections with Verizon smartphones for voice, data and video applications without the need of any specialized software or device support or update, Verizon said.

Return of 'Can You Hear Me Now' character to Verizon

Verizon wanted to reconnect customers with the original "Test Man" as part of its story about expanding satellite connections, said Leslie Berland, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon.

Aldrin is a "legend" and "icon," Berland said, and he was the "dream person" to be part of the commercial "to bring this story and this technology to life."

In 1969, Aldrin, Armstrong and Michael Collins were the first men to successfully go to the moon and return to Earth. "What he did in his career and over time, and what he's now doing with us in this ad, we thought was super fun and really bold," Berland said. To bring Aldrin and Marcarelli together, "really created a very fun, interesting, dynamic story to tell," she said.

The "Test Man" character arose out of Verizon's real-world network engineers, Russo said. "It was a mirror of what we literally did each and every day on the streets where people live, work and play," he said.

Marcarelli – who's also been a theater actor and filmmaker – said working with Aldrin was "awe-inspiring and I found found myself really starstruck."

For his part, during the filming of the commercial, Marcarelli was "hanging from the ceiling" attempting to look like he was floating in outer space. "I'm not in the shape I was in in 2001, safe to say. It definitely took some skill and some core strength, but it was also, you know, an experience I'd never had before, so that was really pretty cool," he said.

Verizon's "Test Man" could be hanging around as a spokesman. "I think this could be a really exciting time to be back with Verizon, so we're going to see how this commercial does and then go from there," Marcarelli said.

What Verizon devices can use satellite connections currently?

These current devices can use satellite connections to send text messages:

• iPhone 14 and newer
• Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL
• Samsung GS25

Follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky and X: mikegsnider &@mikegsnider.bsky.social &@mikesnider.

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