Ukraine: WhatsApp & Co. directly via Starlink with Kyivstar this year
Kyivstar from Ukraine wants to be the first provider in Europe to enable smartphones to send messages directly via Starlink before the end of the year.
(Image: Starlink)
The Ukrainian provider Kyivstar wants to be the first in Europe to make it possible for customers' smartphones to send text messages directly via the Starlink satellite network before the end of this year. This was reported by the news agency Reuters, citing Managing Director Oleksandr Komarov. It should be possible to chat in WhatsApp, Signal or other messengers via Starlink in Ukraine before the end of this year. From the beginning of 2026 – "Let's play it safe, definitely in the second quarter" – broadband internet connections and voice transmission should then also be possible, the news agency quotes him as saying.
Starlink particularly important for Ukraine
As Reuters further writes, Kyivstar has been running tests since the end of 2024, and the provider is also particularly advanced internationally. In the USA, T-Mobile US began a beta test in February in which conventional smartphones can send text messages via Starlink. Starlink is currently regarded as the best way to close dead spots and provide coverage in remote regions. In Ukraine satellite internet has been considered a central component of the communications infrastructure since the large-scale invasion by Russian troops at the beginning of 2022 and is particularly resilient.
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Starlink has been under construction for years by the US space company SpaceX; until now, special antennas have been needed to establish contact with the satellites. Since the beginning of 2024, however, advanced satellites have been launched into space that enable smartphones to be connected directly. These can then also be used to contact the outside world if there is no mobile phone tower within range. However, the conditions are not equally good everywhere; in Central Europe with its many small territorial states, the different country-specific radio regulations are an obstacle. This is why Deutsche Telekom, for example, is seeking alternatives.
(mho)
