Veon-owned Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said on Monday it has successfully connected its core network to Starlink’s LEO satellite infrastructure, bringing it a step closer to offering direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services later this year.
Kyivstar said Starlink has also successfully tested a Kyivstar SIM card on its network in a lab in the US. The test confirmed that the Starlink network recognizes the Kyivstar subscriber, processes signals correctly, and can operate synchronously.
Ilya Polshak, Kyivstar’s director of new business development, said the telco has already acquired the necessary spectrum to support the service in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and Postal Services (NKEC), both of which support the project.
Polshak said the D2D service – which Starlink brands as Direct To Cell – will be available to all Kyivstar subscribers who have 4G phones and SIM cards, enabling them to stay connected not only in remote areas, but also during communications blackouts.
“In times of war, when communication is critically important, the company decided to invest in Direct to Cell," he said.
Polshak added that Kyivstar has been looking at D2D technologies since 2021. The telco signed an agreement with Starlink in January 2025 to launching Starlink’s D2D service with SMS and OTT messaging functionality in the fourth quarter of 2025, making it the first company in Europe to do so.
The next stage of preparation involves field testing D2D services – starting with text messaging – in selected locations in Ukraine, which Kyivstar plans to begin in mid-2025.
