Elon Musk’s Starlink to roll out direct-to-cell service in Ukraine

KYIV (Reuters): Ukraine’s leading mobile operator Kyivstar has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s Starlink to introduce direct-to-cell satellite connectivity, Kyivstar’s parent company VEON said on Monday.

Direct-to-cell devices are connected to satellites equipped with modems that function like a cellphone tower, beaming phone signals from space directly to smartphones.

Kyivstar expects direct-to-cell services with messaging functionality to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025, the telecoms group said in a joint statement. The operator will expand voice and data services in later stages.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

SpaceX-owned Starlink, which also provides critical internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military, launched its first set of satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities earlier this year.

The satellite broadband firm has struck deals with local providers for direct-to-cell services in the U.S. and seven other countries, including Japan and New Zealand.

Ukraine will be one of the first countries in the world with direct-to-cell connectivity and the first conflict zone where Starlink will roll out this technology, according to its website.

Russia has ramped up its efforts to jam signals between Starlink satellites and ground terminals in Ukraine since 2022.

The agreement comes as Musk, Starlink’s owner, grows more engaged with the incoming Trump administration in the U.S. and its Ukraine strategy.

In November, he joined a call between President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which he said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites to Ukraine, Axios reported.