Veon-owned Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced that it has officially launched Starlink’s Direct to Cell (D2C) LEO satellite service for its customers after months of testing, with the initial service supporting only SMS.
Kyivstar said the D2C service is available to all of its 4G subscribers in Ukraine at no extra cost. Users will be able to connect to Starlink automatically in areas where terrestrial mobile signals are unavailable – provided they own an Android smartphone. Users with an iPhone 13 and later iPhone models will be able to access the service with the next software update.
While service coverage doesn’t include occupied areas, border regions, and active combat zones, Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov said D2C technology (also known as direct-to-device [D2D] satellite) will be an essential lifeline for subscribers in hard-to-reach areas and recently de-occupied territories where terrestrial networks are often damaged or under restoration, as well as situations such as prolonged blackouts and rescue and humanitarian missions.
“In Ukraine, where blackouts and infrastructure damage have become part of reality, staying connected means staying safe. At critical moments, every message is important — it can be on the weight of life,” he said in a statement. “Millions of Ukrainians get the opportunity to stay in touch even in the most difficult conditions.”
Kyivstar noted that Starlink D2C will only provide SMS capabilities initially due to the limited bandwidth of its LEO satellite signals. The service is scheduled to support voice and data services next year.
Kyivstar began testing Starlink’s D2C network after it secured regulatory approval from the Ukrainian National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and the Provision of Postal Services (NCEC) in June this year.
Kyivstar also plans to us Starlink’s D2C capabilities to support the country’s financial services and digital payments infrastructure via a partnership with Mastercard announced last month.
In July, Kyivstar’s parent company Veon signed a framework agreement with Starlink to look for future opportunities to launch D2C services in other markets where Veon operates. Veon’s Beeline Kazakhstan signed a commercial agreement to launch Starlink D2C services earlier this month.
“Today’s [Kyivstar] launch also lays the foundation for Veon’s future projects to that will enable satellite-powered resilient connectivity across our operations,” said Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu.
Kyivstar is the first telco in Europe to commercially launch Starlink’s D2C service.
