SpaceX and Deutsche Telekom Partner to Bring Starlink Mobile to 10 European Countries

SpaceX has entered a partnership with Deutsche Telekom to bring its direct-to-device satellite service, Starlink Mobile, to users across Europe.

Announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the collaboration is designed to eliminate remaining cellular dead zones by enabling standard smartphones to connect directly to the Starlink constellation.

Eliminating Gaps of Coverage

Deutsche Telekom’s terrestrial network already covers nearly 90% of Germany’s geographic area with 5G and 99% with voice services, but terrain and nature conservation restrictions prevent new towers in some areas.

To address those gaps, Starlink Mobile will serve as a backup: when a compatible smartphone loses its terrestrial signal, it will switch to Starlink’s orbital network, maintaining access to data, voice, video, and text messaging regardless of location.

This hybrid model is intended to keep service available during natural disasters, prolonged power outages, or in remote mountain regions.

First to Launch V2

Expected to roll out in early 2028, the partnership will support over 140 million subscribers across 10 European countries:

• Germany
• Austria
• Poland
• Hungary
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia
• Greece
• Croatia
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia

This agreement also marks the first-of-its-kind deployment in Europe using Starlink’s next-generation V2 satellites. These satellites operate on the dedicated Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum, delivering terrestrial-like 5G speeds directly to regular mobile phones, with no specialized hardware required.

At MWC, Stephanie Bednarek, VP of Starlink Sales, said this V2 technology will significantly expand bandwidth and capacity, providing true broadband directly to mobile devices.

Starlink Mobile Grows

SpaceX is rebranding its direct-to-cell technology as Starlink Mobile and securing major carrier partnerships such as Deutsche Telekom.

Starlink recently crossed 10 million active subscribers.