There is a “lot of pleasure” about satellite tv for pc or non-terrestrial networks (NTN), noticed Luke Pearce, principal analyst at FDM CCS Perception, though he additionally warned that there is “various uncertainty” owing to a number of elements.
Talking throughout RCRTech’s NTN Discussion board this week, Pearce famous that whereas NTN is a giant matter proper now, it stays at an early stage in its lifecycle. Industrial momentum is clearly constructing, however the market “stays formed by some business-case uncertainty, in addition to some technical roadblocks and obstacles,” he stated.
Direct-to-device (D2D) is actually the subject du jour. In July, the International cellular Suppliers Affiliation (GSA) reported that there are actually 123 publicly introduced D2D partnerships, of which 23 have now launched a service. An additional 27 are evaluating, testing or trialing the service, whereas 73 partnerships are within the planning part. (See Satellite tv for pc D2D goes world as Africa gears up for service launches – GSA and Satellite tv for pc D2D transferring into the mainstream for cellular gamers – GSA.)
Thanks largely to Starlink, the variety of D2D connections is on the rise. Nevertheless, only a sliver of cellular customers across the globe have linked their telephones to a satellite tv for pc at this still-nascent stage of the D2D market, in line with a latest examine from Ookla. (See D2D connections rising, however solely a sliver of cellular subs have used them – Ookla.)
Combating discuss
One operator that’s using the D2D wave is Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest operator, which in November 2025 turned the primary operator in Europe to launch industrial providers. It has been integrating Starlink Cell with its terrestrial community to create a hybrid terrestrial/non-terrestrial system. (See Kyivstar drafts in Starlink to bolster war-damaged community.)
Quick ahead 9 months, and over 7.5 million Kyivstar clients have linked to the Kyivstar-SpaceX community in Ukraine, up from 5 million in March 2026 and three million at first of this 12 months (See Eurobites: Kyivstar’s D2D Starlink service takes off in Ukraine.) It has additionally delivered greater than 10 million SMS messagesover satellite tv for pc.
To make sure, no operator would wish to be in Kyivstar’s place, given it was pressured to combine the satellite tv for pc and terrestrial cellular networks underneath extraordinarily tough wartime situations. On the similar time, these circumstances have given Kyivstar a really completely different perspective on NTN in comparison with operators which are participating in pilots or utilizing satellite tv for pc for protection or service extension.
In an interview throughout NTN Discussion board, Illia Polshakov, chief new enterprise stream officer at Kyivstar, stated a superbly well-served space in Ukraine can all of the sudden turn into a protection gap due to a blackout, broken infrastructure or one other disruption. Whereas it’s has invested closely in its terrestrial community and power resilience, it nonetheless can’t assure 100% availability when one thing goes incorrect.
The telco’s problem was not merely to attach areas that had by no means been served, however to keep up connectivity when a functioning terrestrial community all of the sudden disappeared.
That led Kyivstar to construct satellite tv for pc connectivity on high of its terrestrial community, with clients routinely switching to satellite tv for pc when terrestrial service is unavailable. Its worth is that it may possibly present connectivity when the terrestrial different is not there. Whereas the terrestrial community stays the first infrastructure, the satellite tv for pc community gives what Polshakov describes as a “dome” or resilience layer overlaying the ground-based cellular community.
Certainly, this wartime expertise has supplied a real-world take a look at at a scale that can not be replicated in a lab: hundreds of thousands of shoppers adopted satellite tv for pc connectivity throughout blackouts. Kyivstar has subsequently expanded its providers from SMS into gentle information and business-critical functions. (See Eurobites: Kyvistar hooks up with Starlink for ‘gentle information’ service.)
Based mostly on Kyivstar’s expertise, Polshakov’s recommendation to different operators is to start out with the client drawback relatively than the know-how. “You’ll want to perceive what massive ache factors you are attempting to the touch into, what you want to resolve,” he stated.
He additionally counsels operators to embrace innovation, or danger changing into “an organization who actually [does] not know what sort of services are coming.”
In the meantime, Kyivstar’s mother or father VEON is planning to supply satellite tv for pc providers in all its markets, with Kazakhstan subsequent in line throughout 2026, adopted by Bangladesh.
