Starlink Strikes Satellite-To-Mobile Connectivity Deal With Deutsche Telekom to Expand European Coverage

By Mauro Orru and Najat Kantouar

BARCELONA--Elon Musk's Starlink agreed to complement Deutsche Telekom's mobile network across 10 European countries with satellite connectivity, part of a deal that will bring 5G speeds to cell phones in remote areas where mobile coverage isn't available.

The companies made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, saying that users of smartphones would be able to connect to Starlink's constellation of satellites from Germany and several other European countries in 2028, when Starlink's next-generation satellites are expected to be in place.

The partnership will effectively bring an additional layer of connectivity beyond traditional cellular coverage: when a compatible smartphone loses its signal from the mobile towers that underpin the terrestrial network, it will connect to Starlink's satellites that will beam connectivity strong enough for users to access data, video, voice and text-messaging services. The companies said the number of compatible devices in Europe is expected to grow steadily in the run-up to 2028.

"This agreement will be the first-of-its-kind in Europe to launch Starlink's V2 next-generation technology that will expand on data, voice and messaging by providing broadband directly to mobile phones," Stephanie Bednarek, vice president of sales at Starlink's parent company SpaceX, said in a statement.

Deutsche Telekom's board member for product and technology, Abdu Mudesir, said the deal would help close so-called white-spot areas in remote locations that lack mobile or internet coverage--and even expand coverage to protected natural areas and places where building mobile towers is difficult or unprofitable due to terrain conditions.

For Starlink, the partnership represents an opportunity to tap Deutsche Telekom's customers across a number of European countries such as Germany and Poland and potentially expand the base of active Starlink users.

Michael Nicolls, senior vice president of Starlink, said Monday that the company counted over 16 million unique users and recently crossed the 10 million threshold for active users on a monthly basis. He projected 25 million users by the end of the year.

Starlink has expanded its footprint in Europe through partnerships with major telecommunication companies like Ukraine's Kyivstar, the first in Europe to provide access to satellite technology to send and receive SMS messages during wartime. Kyivstar now has more than 3 million registered users for direct-to-cell satellite connectivity services via Starlink.

Last month, MasOrange signed a pilot agreement with Starlink to trial the direct-to-cell service in Valladolid, Spain. Meanwhile, Virgin Media O2 switched on O2 Satellite, a new service using Starlink's direct-to-cell functionality.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com and Najat Kantouar at najat.kantouar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 02, 2026 11:41 ET (16:41 GMT)