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TAMPA, Fla. — Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said Oct. 31 it is preparing to test SpaceX’s Starlink Direct to Cell service across most of the country, excluding border areas, active combat zones and territories occupied by Russian forces.
The company said the satellite technology, enabling connectivity directly to standard phones, will be particularly valuable for de-mining operations and other emergency or rural scenarios where terrestrial networks are unavailable.
VEON, Kyivstar’s Dubai-headquartered parent company, announced the service’s first Eastern European field test in August, following regulatory permission from Ukraine’s telecoms regulator earlier in the year.
The operator is planning nationwide tests that would extend the service to all mobile subscribers before the end of 2025, initially supporting text messaging at no additional cost. Voice calls and mobile broadband are set to follow in later phases.
Starlink Direct to Cell currently relies on terrestrial mobile operators like Kyivstar to provide the cellular spectrum needed to connect its satellites directly with unmodified handsets.
In September, SpaceX announced plans worth more than $17 billion to buy satellite spectrum from EchoStar to support future capabilities, including higher-bandwidth applications.
The service is currently available commercially for text messaging, emergency alerts and limited app connectivity across the United States, New Zealand and Japan. British mobile operator Virgin Media O2 recently announced plans to roll out Starlink Direct to Cell to customers across the United Kingdom early next year.
SpaceX has also made Starlink Direct to Cell available in areas hit by natural disasters. The company said Oct. 28 that the service has been enabled in Jamaica for all Liberty Caribbean customers as Hurricane Melissa battered the region.
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