Kyivstar launches Starlink satellite communication in Ukraine

Kyivstar announced the launch of Starlink Direct to Cell satellite communication throughout Ukraine, and now subscribers can send SMS even in the complete absence of terrestrial mobile coverage. This is a SpaceX pilot project, which is being launched in Ukraine for the first time in Europe.

How satellite communication works

Starlink Direct to Cell technology allows smartphones to access Starlink satellites directly without using additional terminals. All you need to work is a phone with 4G (LTE) support and open access to the sky. The new satellites are equipped with LTE modules and their own eNodeB, so the smartphone perceives them as ordinary base stations. Then the signal is transmitted between the satellites via laser channels and enters ground gateways.

The service operates throughout Ukraine, except for border areas, occupied territories and zones of active hostilities. At the start, only text messages are available, and currently only on Android smartphones with 4G support. The function will become available to users of iPhone 13 and newer models after one of the upcoming updates. There is no additional payment, everything works within the current tariff. In the future, Kyivstar plans to expand the service’s capabilities by adding voice calls and mobile Internet.

Direct to Cell can significantly help in areas without coverage and during power outages. According to him, rescuers work in “white spots” of communication in the Carpathians every year, and in the Kyiv region alone, in October and November, mobile networks worked together for about two hundred thousand hours without electricity. Base stations usually withstand more than eight hours of autonomous operation, but in the event of prolonged outages, it is satellite channels that can provide backup communication. Currently, about a quarter of Ukraine has no mobile coverage.

During the first day of operation of the service, about two hundred thousand users registered on the Starlink Direct to Cell network, who sent more than sixteen thousand text messages via the satellite channel.