Ukraine, the first country in Europe to offer a mobile phone service through Starlink's “direct-to-cell” technology
Antenna of the Starlink satellite system, donated by American billionaire Elon Musk, in Izium, Kharkiv region, Photo: Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP / Profimedia
Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, has become the first in Europe to launch Starlink's direct-to-cell satellite technology to keep millions connected amid blackouts and war-torn infrastructure, the company said on Monday, according to Reuters.
In the first phase, Kyivstar offers only SMS services through this technology, and next year it will expand the offer to voice and data, based on an agreement between Starlink, Elon Musk's company, and the Veon telecommunications group, the owner of Kyivstar.
“In Ukraine, staying connected means staying safe,” said CEO Oleksandr Komarov, noting that the new service will strengthen the network's resilience.
Kyivstar serves approximately 22.5 million mobile users.
The service will allow maintaining the connection on regular 4G phones during extended blackouts, in recently liberated areas where terrestrial networks are destroyed or under reconstruction, as well as in rescue operations and humanitarian missions.
The company has already increased the autonomy of the network by installing batteries and generators that can maintain operation for more than 10 hours without power from the electrical network.
Since the beginning of the war, Russian drone and missile attacks have frequently hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing widespread blackouts and damaging distribution and production capabilities.
Direct-to-cell technology allows mobile phones to be connected directly to satellites, which relay the signal to the ground. The Ukrainian military relies on more than 50,000 Starlink terminals for battlefield communications and drone operations.
