The Realistic Potential of Satellite Direct-to-Device Services

Satellite direct-to-device services are positioned by some in the industry as a way to fill gaps in rural mobile coverage. But others, like SpaceX, believe it can do even more. I was recently invited by Virgin Media O2 to see where the technology is today and get a sense of where it’s going.

O2 Satellite is the operator’s direct-to-device service, announced in October 2025 and launched in February 2026 in partnership with Starlink, the subsidiary of SpaceX.

The service uses Starlink’s direct-to-device V1 constellation that consists of 650 satellites. These satellites extend O2’s coverage to 95% of the UK, up from 89% through its terrestrial network. The most northerly points of Scotland miss out because of the orbital path of Starlink’s satellites.

To test out the service, O2 arranged a trip to an accessible beauty spot that isn’t covered by terrestrial networks: Aber Falls in North Wales.

The difficulty finding a place without coverage outlines the strength of the UK’s terrestrial network coverage. I’ve used a phone with O2 Satellite for the past three months, moving between Portsmouth, Liverpool, Loughborough, King’s Lynn and Clevedon, with terrestrial connectivity remaining intact during these visits and the journeys to them. Only when I went to West Cornwall on a walking holiday did I finally lose coverage and connect to O2 Satellite.

On the trip to Aber Falls, the iPhone 18s that we used attempted to retain its connection to the mobile network instead of connecting to the Starlink satellites orbiting 400 kilometres above us.

Virgin Media O2’s director of mobile access engineering, Professor Rob Joyce, explained that this was because O2’s network was previously set up so that if any usable mobile signal threshold was detected, the device would try to connect to it, even if the connection wasn’t particularly strong. However, with satellite direct-to-device technology, the threshold for terrestrial services doesn’t need to be as low. This shows that the offering still needs to be developed and refined.

Later in the day, we found an area with no such issues. At this point, O2 Satellite began working with demos for Google Maps and WhatsApp messages, voice calls and video calls. These services all worked between the devices in the “not spot” area, showing successful two-way functionality.

The quality of service was mostly good, but the video call was pixelated, like the world-first demonstration over satellite between AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone in January 2025. Also, the service dropped regularly every couple of minutes because Starlink’s satellite constellation has a gap in its orbital path over North Wales.

Alongside the O2 Satellite demonstration, I also attended a briefing from Professor Joyce on the future of the O2 network and its £700 million network transformation plan. O2 Satellite will be an important component, but its capability is limited because of the realities (and physics) of a non-terrestrial network.

Professor Joyce underlined that the future of O2’s network is one that works everywhere and is reliable. This includes rural areas but, more crucially, addresses common frustrations in urban areas, where “giga sites” are being deployed to provide capacity. Plans were outlined to improve connectivity on train lines as well.

The demonstration highlighted that satellite direct-to-device technology is impressive in hard-to-reach areas but is still a long way from matching terrestrial networks. This is likely to improve with the introduction of Starlink’s V2 direct-to-device satellites and the use of greater amounts of spectrum.

But there are several barriers for satellite direct-to-device services compared with terrestrial networks, including concerns about capacity, uplink traffic and indoor coverage. My trip to Wales outlined how far satellite connectivity has come, but that it still has a long way to go to become a reliable service.

However, SpaceX is becoming increasingly bullish about launching a mobile network that will use satellite direct-to-device connectivity as a primary option in semi-urban areas of the US that are today covered with terrestrial network (see Qualcomm’s SpaceX Deal Confirms Starlink’s Hybrid Network Strategy). The idea that the US mobile market isn’t far away from having a satellite network that is comparable to the terrestrial connectivity in covered rural areas is far-fetched.

In the short term, O2 Satellite will smooth out service levels before adding new capabilities, such as access to different apps using the technology. In the longer term, it could help boost service in “one bar” areas where terrestrial coverage is weak, which will tie in nicely with O2’s overall strategy of making its network more reliable for everyone.

Satellite direct-to-device services are best understood as a complement to terrestrial networks, not a competitor to them. It adds value by filling coverage gaps, and one day should help improve connectivity in areas with weak coverage. The investment that will matter to most customers is still in the terrestrial network. Operators should position satellite accordingly and be careful not to oversell it.