Starlink direct-to-cell service is expanding internationally, with launches and testing in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Chile, Peru, and Ukraine. A broader rollout, including in Africa through Airtel Africa, is planned for 2026. The service provides text messaging and will soon offer data and voice in areas without cellular coverage by connecting directly to standard smartphones.  

Expansion Overview 

Confirmed rollouts:  

• The service is available for text messaging with T-Mobile, Starlink (US), and ONENZ (New Zealand).  

• Rogers (Canada) and other partners are actively testing or launching the service.  

Upcoming in 2025: Testing and launches are planned with Optus (Australia), KDDI (Japan), Salt (Switzerland), and Intel (Chile and Peru).  

Future Expansion (2026): Airtel Africa will partner with SpaceX to introduce the service in 14 African markets.  

Service Overview 

The service uses Starlink satellites with Direct-to-Cell features to connect directly to unmodified smartphones.  

Initial focus: The first phase offers text messaging (SMS/MMS) and emergency alerts in areas without coverage.  

Future capabilities: Plans include support for data and voice services, as well as expanded capabilities alongside partners such as T-Mobile for use with services like WhatsApp and Google or Apple services.  

Eliminates dead zones: The service extends connectivity to remote and rural areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable.  

Partnership model: Starlink collaborates with existing mobile network operators, such as T-Mobile, who then provide the service to their customers.  

Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell Network aims to provide global network access by eliminating mobile dead zones through satellite-to-mobile technology. One year after launching the first direct-to-cell satellites, the messaging service is now available in the United States and New Zealand, with more countries coming soon. The Starlink team overcame many technical and compliance hurdles to connect satellites directly to 4G LTE phones. Now, T-Mobile and One NZ customers can use satellite messaging in areas that were previously out of reach. In 2025, SpaceX plans to expand this technology to more countries and add services for IoT devices, data, and voice.  

Starlink Direct-To-Cell service is now available in the United States and New Zealand, allowing people to send messages via satellite or on 4G LTE phones. Over the past year, SpaceX has expanded the network by launching more than 400 satellites. People sent millions of messages through Starlink Direct-To-Cell using beta testing and emergencies, helping keep the public connected. This new commercial messaging service is our first step toward ending mobile dead zones and bringing reliable worldwide connectivity with satellite-to-phone technology.  

After launching the first Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellites in January 2024, SpaceX has achieved multiple technical and regulatory milestones to launch the service.  

Unlike traditional networks that use ground-based cell towers, Starlink Direct-to-Cell relies on satellites designed to act as cell towers in space, bringing coverage to areas that are usually out of reach. These satellites orbit a few hundred kilometers above Earth and travel at very high speeds relative to people on the ground, presenting challenges such as Doppler-shift latency and the limited antenna strength and power of regular devices.  

To solve these problems, the Starlink team quickly developed new phased-array antennas, custom silicon, and advanced software to improve signal quality and coverage.  

Thanks to these advances and our experience in launching rockets and satellites, SpaceX was able to expand Starlink Direct-to-Cell and start service less than a year after the first satellites went into orbit.  

We have worked closely with mobile network operators worldwide to quickly integrate our networks and carry out thorough testing before launching commercial service.  
 
Some key achievements include:  

• Sending the first SMS just nine days after our first satellite launch  

• Successfully testing data on C-81 IoT devices.  

Our partners operate terrestrial telecom networks and supply LTE spectrum in the 1.6-2.7 GHz range, which we use for our satellite signals. This setup lets Starlink work as a standard roaming partner with these operators, so we can deliver services directly to wireless subscribers together.  

After Hurricanes Helena and Milton and the Los Angeles wildfires, SpaceX received special FCC permission to partner with T-Mobile and deliver Starlink Direct-to-Cell service in affected areas. This enabled T-Mobile users there to send text messages via Starlink’s satellite when regular cell coverage was unavailable. It also ensured that wireless emergency alerts could reach all wireless subscribers within the satellite coverage area, eliminating the need for global connectivity.  

In November 2024, after extensive testing, SpaceX was granted FCC approval to sell a commercial service in the United States, a key regulatory milestone for satellite-to-mobile connectivity. Starlink Direct-to-Sell is now available to users in the U.S. with T-Mobile and in New Zealand to users with ONENZ. SpaceX also continues to test with operator partners in Australia, Canada, Chile, and Japan, and will begin testing in additional regions soon.  

In 2025, we are preparing for commercial launches with mobile network operators in countries around the world, including Australia, Ukraine, Canada, Switzerland, Chile, Peru, and Japan. As we look ahead, we are focused on increasing our satellite-to-mobile coverage through an expanded global rollout, providing additional support for IoT services, devices, data, and voice.