Brazil’s ANATEL Approves Starlink Mobile’s Full 2 GHz Access

Brazil’s telecom regulator, ANATEL, has voted to approve Starlink Mobile’s full 2 GHz access in the country, Starlink said on Friday afternoon. That opens mid-band spectrum for SpaceX’s satellite-to-phone service in what is already Starlink’s second-largest market.

Starlink announced the decision on X at 2:49 p.m. PT:

ANATEL just scored a huge win for the people of Brazil by voting to approve Starlink Mobile’s full 2 GHz access with our global S-band priority.

Starlink will put this critical mid-band spectrum to work to make sure every Brazilian has access to high-speed mobile broadband on their devices 🛰️📱

— Starlink (@Starlink) October 9, 2026

The key phrase is “global S-band priority.” Starlink is using the same 2 GHz band everywhere it rolls out Starlink Mobile, and Brazil just signed off on the full block.

That band came from EchoStar. Earlier this week, the FCC approved 15,000 next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites and cleared SpaceX to use more of its EchoStar spectrum, including slices of the 2 GHz range, for cellular service.

A day later, SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide 800 MHz license portfolio in the U.S. SpaceX says the 2 GHz layer carries the high-bandwidth capacity, while 800 MHz pushes signal through walls. Brazil’s vote covers the 2 GHz piece.

Starlink Mobile is the direct-to-cell side of Starlink. Satellites talk straight to ordinary phones, with no dish needed. The current version handles texting, apps and basic data in dead zones, and the next-gen V2 satellites are meant to bring real broadband to phones.

Europe offers a preview of how this tends to roll out. In September, Starlink signed with Hungary’s 4iG to launch Starlink Mobile in Hungary and Albania on the same 2 GHz spectrum, with V2 broadband to follow in Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Brazil is already a big Starlink country. Back in January, SpaceX executive Michael Nicolls said Starlink had passed 1 million subscribers in Brazil, making it the company’s second-largest customer base. Much of that is rural farms and remote areas near the Amazon, where cell coverage runs out quickly.

Plenty is still missing. Starlink hasn’t said when Starlink Mobile service will launch in Brazil, which Brazilian carriers will partner on it, or what it will cost. The post also gives no license terms or conditions beyond the approval itself.

For now, it’s a regulatory green light, not a launch date. But in a country with this many dishes already on rooftops, the next step that matters is simpler: a phone in the Amazon showing Starlink for signal.