British Samsung Galaxy owners can be the first to take advantage of a Starlink-powered Direct-to-Cell satellite internet service in Europe, thanks to the debut of the service by mobile operator Virgin Media O2. The service offers voice and messaging support, as well as access to Google Maps, WhatsApp, Twitter/X, and other apps.
The Starlink Direct-to-Cell service is designed to expand internet connectivity to devices that fall outside the usual coverage of cellular data connections like 4G and 5G. It’s angled to be useful in extremely rural locations—like Starlink internet dishes themselves—and in emergency situations where standard data services are unavailable.
Regulatory approval for Direct-to-Cell internet connectivity was granted in the UK earlier in February, allowing Virgin Media O2 to push ahead with its deployment. British telecoms regulator OfCom has finalized the rules for such a service in the UK and has opened the option for other satellite providers to offer a similar service to UK consumers and businesses in the future.
However, as with the FCC’s 2024 implementation of a framework for the service, UK telecoms companies leveraging the new freedoms for such a service will need to ensure that it operates only on a secondary basis and does not cause any interference with primary terrestrial mobile providers or other satellite services.
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Virgin Media O2 claims this new service will help it expand connectivity from 89% of the UK’s landmass to 95%, adding an area around two-thirds the size of Wales. The only downside is that it’s available only to Virgin Media O2 customers using Samsung Galaxy S25 or newer devices.
Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler said: “This is a defining moment for UK mobile connectivity and a statement of our intent to keep innovating and ensure our customers can stay connected no matter where they are. By launching O2 Satellite, we’ve become the first operator in Europe to launch a space-based mobile data service that, overnight, has brought new mobile coverage to an area around two-thirds the size of Wales for the first time.”
Starlink has so far made deals with a number of international telecoms companies to begin offering its Direct-to-Cell internet service. Alongside Virgin Media O2 in the UK, it’s also made deals with Kyivstar in Ukraine, T-Mobile in the United States, Optus and Telstra in Australia, Rogers in Canada, and Salt in Switzerland, among others. In the UK, fellow telecom company EE has also pledged to launch a similar service before the end of the year.
