The service Starlink Direct-to-Cell allows standard mobile phones to connect directly to the satellites of South African-American tycoon Elon Musk’s SpaceX company without additional hardware, using existing LTE bands to fill coverage gaps in remote areas.
The service will be commercially operational from December 2025 Chile and Peru through alliances with local operators, cwith planned expansions in other Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
This technology is transforming mobile connectivity by acting as Orbital cell towerswith initial priority given to short text messages (SMS) and emergencies, with limited data available in early phases. The focus on Latin America highlights its potential to close digital gaps in rural regions, where more than 50% of the area is not covered by land.
Reporting in Latin America: Progress and Alliances
chili is the first Latin American country with commercial D2C through Entel as of November 2025, offering 150-450 GB plans with SMS/voice. Covers deserts, mountains and coasts and eliminates dead zones. Peru followed suit with Entel, launching the service a week later with a focus on rural areas in the Amazon.
In Argentina, the deployment is being prepared thanks to the favorable regulatory framework, although there is no official start date. Brazil is facing delays in its testing, Mexico is exploring Starlink alliances, and Colombia and other countries are awaiting approvals.
The cellular connection to Starlink has limitations. For example this Download speeds are between 2 and 20 Mbit/s; and the latency is between 100 and 600 ms. These ranges show that it is an ideal connection for SMS and voice, but not for high-definition streaming. It only works outside land cover and prioritizes rural areas.
Starlink Mobile: When would it be available in Argentina?
Starlink D2C is redefining telecommunications in Latin America as it shuts down Gaps for more than 100 million people who live in rural areas without a stable signal. Its near-universal compatibility reduces costs compared to traditional satellite networks and promotes emergency services, the Internet of Things in agriculture and telemedicine.
Forecasts for 2026 and 2027 suggest that robust data and voice transmission will be available with download speeds of more than 50 Mbps thanks to thousands of new Starlink satellites. It is estimated that the service will be available in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico second quarter of 2026; and this coverage will reach 80% of the land surface of Latin America. The social impact will be undoubted: it will reduce digital inequality, enable distance learning in the Andes and the Amazon, and boost local economies.
The arrival of Starlink D2C Latin America marks the beginning of a new era of connectivity, where digital inclusion and access to essential services will no longer be the privileges of a few. Although technical and regulatory challenges remain, the transformative potential of this technology promises to reduce the digital divide, provide development opportunities and improve the quality of life in the most remote areas of the continent. The future of telecommunications in the region looks more accessible, equitable and connected than ever before.
Starlink Direct-to-Cell: The revolutionary concept
Starlink Direct-to-Cell, also known as D2C, equips satellites with eNodeB modems that replicate and enable low-orbit cell towers direct connections from standard LTE mobile phones. The satellites utilize advanced phased array antennas and laser links for seamless integration into partner operators’ terrestrial networks.
As of December 2025, the service has advanced to commercial testing in select markets, beginning with SMS and emergency alerts such as those seen during hurricanes in the United States USA where 1.5 million users sent millions of messages.
In New Zealandsaved lives by allowing locations to be transmitted after accidents in areas with no signal. The enhancements include basic voice and data functionality, with initial speeds slower than Starlink landline terminals due to satellite performance limitations.
Implementation depends on massive adoption by companies Falcon 9 and spaceshipwith more than 650 D2C satellites already in orbit in 2025, focused on mutual global coverage between partners. This sets itself apart from competitors like Iridium, which require expensive proprietary hardware, by promising universal accessibility without changes to existing devices.
Hardware and software requirements for compatibility
The compatibility lies in the support for Standard LTE bandswithout requiring special antennas or special applications; A clear view of the sky is enough. It primarily uses licensed frequencies from operators such as AWS-3 (1695-1710 MHz uplink) and PCS G-Block (1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz), in some cases in the 3GPP band n70 for 5G NR.
Any 4G/LTE mobile phones from the last five to seven years meet the requirements if they support these bandscommon in Latin America via operators such as Entel in Chile with band 4 (1700 MHz). The updated “firmware” (software program that communicates with a device’s hardware) is crucial, as operators enable support via OTA updates for satellite broadcasting, displaying, for example, the legend T-Mobile SpaceX or similar when connecting.
Unlike the emergency call and SOS service from Apple Starlink uses satellite operator Globalstar’s network with dedicated hardware and emphasizes massive support for LTE Cat-1 and higher (3GPP Rel. 10+). Mid-bands like AWS avoid urban interference and prioritize rural frequencies, although n70 allows for future 5G integration without drastic changes to mobile phones.
Mobile phone models compatible with Starlink
Technically, as of 2018, almost all modern cell phones are compatible if they operate on Band 4/AWS and receive local carrier activation. Families like him iPhone 12 and later (LTE Band 4/n70 support), Samsung Galaxy S21 to S25 and the Galaxy Z and A series (global AWS bands) as well as Xiaomi/Redmi 11 and above stand out for their comprehensive coverage in Latin America.
From Google Pixel 6, OnePlus Nord and the series Motorola Edge They also deliver, with a focus on software updates for D2C. In tests conducted in Chile, devices connected to the Entel operator with firmware 2025 were automatically connected for SMS in remote areas of the Andes. Activation occurs via the partner operator’s SIM card, not the brand.
Chinese brands like OppoVivo and Huawei’s P and Mate series support lanyards. However, there are limitations: Very old models (before 2018) lack the 256 QAM or 4×4 MIMO required for an efficient connection to Starlink.
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