Ukraine’s leading telecommunications company, Kievstar, has a contract with Starlink owned by Elon Musk signed to provide direct satellite communication services in this country. This news was announced by the parent company of Kiefstar, VEON, on Monday (January 30).
Direct link devices connect to satellites that act like cell towers and transmit phone signals directly from space to smartphones. According to the announcement of Kifstar, this service will start in the fourth quarter of 2025 with the ability to send SMS, and in the next stages it will include voice and data call services.
According to Withers’ report, Starlink, which had previously helped Ukraine’s war-torn areas and the military by providing satellite internet, sent the first satellites equipped with direct communication capabilities into space earlier this year. So far, the company has signed contracts in the United States and seven other countries, including Japan and New Zealand, to provide direct satellite communication services and Direct-to-Cell service.
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Ukraine will be one of the first countries to receive Direct-to-Cell service and the first war zone where Starlink will deploy Direct-to-Cell technology. Starting in 2022, Russia has increased its efforts to disrupt signals between Starlink satellites and ground terminals in Ukraine.
The Starlink-Ukraine contract comes as Elon Musk, the owner of Starlink, has strengthened his ties with the Trump administration in the United States and its strategy regarding Ukraine. According to reports, Musk in November during a call between Donald Trumpthe elected president of the United States and Vladimir Zelenskythe president of Ukraine, was present and announced that he will continue to supply Starlink satellites to Ukraine.
