Starlink Mobile Completes First Video Call Test With FASTWEB in Italy

Starlink said on September 17 that Italy’s FASTWEB has completed its first video call over Starlink Mobile in central Italy, using satellite antennas that act like cell towers in space so customers can stay connected where terrestrial coverage drops out.

FASTWEB’s own post from September 16 framed the same trial as Italy’s first satellite call on an ordinary 4G smartphone, run with Starlink in the Umbrian Apennines via Direct to Cell, with the link traveling about 360 km above Earth.

This is still a carrier experiment, not a nationwide consumer launch. FASTWEB’s Starlink explainer page says the Appennine pilot is reserved for people involved in the trial, that phones with a clear view of the sky can attach to the satellite network automatically when terrestrial 4G/5G is missing, and that no special dish or add-on antenna is required.

Messaging, voice, and video work through compatible apps plus SMS/MMS. Traditional cellular voice calls, including emergency numbers, are not supported over the satellite path yet. FASTWEB has not published a public retail date or pricing.

Starlink Mobile is the Direct to Cell product carriers buy so unmodified phones can talk to Starlink satellites. Italy’s test sits beside other carrier moves already on the board, including Japan’s au V2 path and Panama’s +Móvil messaging launch, plus the fresh U.S. FCC Section 214 grant for SpaceX to carry Starlink Mobile traffic abroad.

FASTWEB has not said when everyday Italian customers can turn the feature on, how usage will be billed, or which phone models make the optimized list first. For now the confirmed beat is narrow and primary: a successful Appennine video call on a normal smartphone, backed by Starlink’s English confirmation and FASTWEB’s Italian demo.

If you follow Starlink dish internet, this is still a phone-carrier story, not a new kit. Watch FASTWEB’s Starlink page for when the pilot leaves the technician-only phase.