Satellite Internet & Direct-to-Cell

SpaceX launched the first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites, beginning the first true low-earth-orbit broadband mega-constellation.

Starlink's first direct-to-cell satellites sent text messages to ordinary, unmodified phones — the opening of the phone-to-satellite era.

AST SpaceMobile orbited its first commercial BlueBird satellites — the largest commercial arrays ever flown, purpose-built for broadband direct to phones.

AST SpaceMobile notified the FCC on 4 Aug 2026 that it had started direct-to-cell operations in Japan with Rakuten Mobile — its first commercial service activation outside the United States. Every Japanese authorization is in hand, including a user-equipment licence from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, after Japan cleared low-Earth-orbit satellites in June to link standard phones over the 700 MHz band. The BlueBird arrays connect unmodified 4G and 5G handsets with no added hardware.

Starlink passed several million active subscribers across ~8,000 satellites — a self-funding constellation at unmatched scale.

Operators are rolling out direct-to-cell voice and data beyond text, via carrier partners — early service, not yet continuous or global.

The finish line: any ordinary phone connected anywhere on Earth, continuously, straight to orbit. Targeted toward the late 2020s, not yet here.