Veon-owned digital operator Beeline Kazakhstan said that it has completed its field test of Starlink Direct to Cell (D2C) LEO satellite service ahead of a planned commercial service launch in the country next year.
During the test conducted in the Akmolinskaya region of Kazakhstan, Beeline Kazakhstan CEO Evgeniy Nastradin and Kazakhstan’s Deputy PM and Minister of AI and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev made a WhatsApp audio call to Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu using a standard smartphone with a Beeline Kazakhstan SIM card that connected via Starlink’s D2C satellites.
The executives also successfully exchanged SMS and WhatsApp messages during the field test.
Beeline said the test confirmed the practical interoperability between Starlink’s D2C satellites and the telco’s terrestrial mobile network, which will enable standard 4G smartphones to stay connected outside of terrestrial 4G coverage.
“This is not just an extension of coverage; it is a transformation of what coverage means,” said Nastradin in a statement. “By integrating satellite and terrestrial networks, we will enable customers to stay connected anywhere in Kazakhstan using the smartphones they already own.”
Beeline Kazakhstan signed a commercial agreement to launch Starlink D2C services last month, with plans to initially launch the SMS-only version of the service next year, pending regulatory approvals.
News of the Beeline Kazakhstan field test comes several weeks after Veon’s Ukrainian telco Kyivstar commercially launched D2C service for its customers, with the initial service also supporting only SMS.
“First in Ukraine and now in Kazakhstan, we are demonstrating how terrestrial networks and satellite platforms can operate as one integrated system, bringing continuity, safety, and opportunity to millions,” said Veon’s Terzioglu.
