In three weeks, Ukrainians sent and received over 500,000 messages via Starlink Direct to Cell

Starlink Direct to Cell technology allows a regular 4G-enabled smartphone to connect directly to Starlink satellites in places where terrestrial coverage is unavailable. Currently, Starlink Direct to Cell allows for SMS messaging. In 2026, Kyivstar plans to add voice calls and mobile internet.

Initially, Starlink Direct to Cell was available to Android smartphone users. And recently, this feature has been made available to iPhone owners .

So, as reported by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, in three weeks this technology was used by more than 2 million Ukrainians, who sent and received more than 540,000 SMS.

The largest number of people connected to Starlink Direct to Cell technology in Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil. However, SMS is most actively exchanged in the South and East, where communication is now critically important.

To use Starlink Direct to Cell you need:

• have a smartphone and a SIM card with 4G support;
• to be outside in the open air.

Starlink Direct to Cell coverage covers the entire controlled territory of Ukraine, with the exception of temporarily occupied territories, zones of active hostilities, and border areas.

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