Business · The Register
Phone-to-satellite deploy goes into orbit, growing 25% in 8 months
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The US and Starlink lead the way in the still-young direct-to-device (D2D) satellite market, where the number of connections recorded by Ookla rose nearly 25 percent between July 2025 and March 2026.
Key facts
- The US and Starlink lead the way in the still-young direct-to-device (D2D) satellite market, where the number of connections recorded by Ookla rose nearly 25 percent between July 2025 and March 2026
- Other countries showing noteworthy levels of D2D activity, according to Ookla, were Australia with 18.1 percent of global D2D samples, Chile with 10 percent, and Canada with 9.8 percent
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- According to a February report from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), D2D services have now launched in 15 countries, while 61 countries and territories are planning, evaluating
- Apple was a pioneer in this market, with every iPhone model since the iPhone 14 in 2022 able to send messages via the Globalstar network
Summary
Satellite phones have been around for many years (remember Iridium?), but only recently have ordinary smartphones been able to link directly to satellites when cellular coverage drops out. Network intelligence firm Ookla has turned its analytical eye to the market, and perhaps unsurprisingly found that the US leads the world in D2D connections, accounting for 45.9 percent of all global activity in March this year. The US is home to SpaceX and its extensive Starlink satellite constellation, and is also a prime market for D2D services as cell tower coverage can be sparse over much of the country outside of large towns and cities. T-Mobile started a public beta of its service using Starlink across the US early in 2025, opening it up officially in July.