SpaceX announced today that it has officially completed the first generation of its Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite network, designed to connect standard cellphones in remote areas — even where there are no cell towers.
“Congrats to the @SpaceX team on completing the first generation Starlink Direct to Cell constellation!” the company posted on X on Friday. “Working with cellular providers around the world, Direct to Cell enables unmodified cellphones to have connectivity in the most remote areas.”
The service uses low-Earth orbit satellites equipped with cellular antennas that can communicate directly with regular smartphones — no satellite phone or special hardware needed. It’s expected to improve mobile coverage in areas with little or no service, such as wilderness regions, highways, and coastal zones.
In Canada, Rogers is SpaceX’s exclusive telecom partner for Direct-to-Cell. The company signed a deal last year to bring the technology to Canada. This move will eliminate coverage gaps in rural and remote parts of the country for Rogers customers.
When the service rolls out, Rogers customers will be able to stay connected even in areas where there’s no ground-based cellular signal, using the Starlink satellite network instead. Starlink has shown demos of Direct to Cell powering a video call.
Other major telecoms have also signed on globally, including T-Mobile in the U.S. (it gets the exclusive first launch right now), KDDI in Japan, and Optus in Australia.
No Canadian launch date has been announced yet, but with the satellite network now in place, Rogers is expected to move ahead with testing and rollout soon. As for pricing? Click here to see what T-Mobile is charging for Starlink Direct to Cell and we can estimate what it might cost in Canada.
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Leave it to Canada's worst cell provider to get the exclusive on this.
It's not worth switching just for this. I'm guessing their exclusive deal will only last a year or two anyway then we'll all be able to use it. 🤞
Hmm I actually liked Rogers when I was on it. I found the speeds more consistent and the coverage more available than on Bell / Telus. Always on those networks I found the towers for some reason have lower transmit power than Rogers, leading to fewer bars and a slow experience even outdoors.
Because I'm on freedom now I can choose which tower out of the major cities, and even when located on the same pole, Rogers offers a higher quality signal.
And they were the first to at least offer something unlimited in Canada. The other two were happily giving you 20 GB buckets for $75 / mo on top of taxes.
Still, no data.
It will be a few years until it's delivering what people really want.