Starlink’s Phone Service Has Now Reached 11 Million People in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh

Image: Starlink

Starlink says its phone service, Starlink Mobile, has connected more than 11 million people over the past year across VEON’s three launch markets in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.

That’s according to a post from Starlink on X on Monday evening, which quoted a VEON post from earlier the same day. Starlink wrote:

“In the last year, Starlink Mobile has connected more than 11 million people across @VEONGroup 3 key markets: Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh. For many, it provides a reliable way to send messages, voice notes, share location and more in places that cell towers cannot reach 🛰️📱”

VEON, the telecom group behind the carriers in all three countries, says it is “the first operator group globally to launch Starlink Mobile across three markets.” Its post describes the 11 million figure this way: “Through Starlink’s direct-to-device technology, 11 million unique VEON customers have stayed connected where cell signal can’t reach – using satellite-ready apps, sharing their location, and sending messages via apps and SMS on their existing LTE-compatible phones.”

VEON’s press release spells out how that number is counted. It covers unique VEON customers who have connected to the service at least once in places where cell signal can’t reach, so it’s a running total of people who have used it rather than a count of active users at any one time. The service works with existing 4G and LTE smartphones in open areas with a clear view of the sky.

The three launches came at different times. Kyivstar switched the service on in Ukraine on November 24, 2025, and it’s free to the carrier’s roughly 15.5 million 4G smartphone users. Beeline Kazakhstan followed on September 29, 2026, with the service free for an initial period, and Banglalink launched in Bangladesh on October 9, 2026, to 20 million customers through its MyBL app. VEON says the service has the potential to reach more than 40 million people across its footprint.

Ukraine is where the service started. Kyivstar ran the first Starlink Direct to Cell test in Eastern Europe in August 2025, when the carrier’s CEO and Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation traded messages over standard 4G phones in the Zhytomyr region. That led to the launch in November 2025, the first such service in Europe, which started with texting and followed the same model as T-Mobile’s T-Satellite in the U.S. and Rogers’ satellite texting in Canada.

According to VEON, Kyivstar has seen the heaviest use in the south and east of Ukraine, “where connectivity is a matter of personal safety.” In Bangladesh, the company says the service is meant to keep people reachable during cyclones, floods and long power outages.

The numbers land on the same day Europe’s four biggest carriers signed a letter of intent to explore a joint bid for the satellite spectrum behind direct-to-device service, framed around European sovereignty. VEON’s post takes a different tack, saying, “We work with leading U.S. technology companies, like Starlink, to extend the American tech ecosystem, digital access, and resilient infrastructure to our high-growth markets.”

Has satellite texting on your phone ever gotten you out of a spot with no signal?