Airtel becomes first African operator to launch Starlink direct-to-phone service

Airtel Africa switched on Starlink Mobile in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 14th August, becoming what it says is the first mobile operator in Africa to offer SpaceX's Direct-to-Cell service commercially. Compatible LTE Android phones connect straight to Starlink's satellites where Airtel's own towers don't reach, no dish or extra hardware needed, just a clear view of the sky and an active data bundle or roaming enabled.

At launch that means SMS and light-data apps like WhatsApp. Voice calls, browsing and streaming aren't supported yet, though Apple devices are expected to join the more than 100 supported Android models as early as September. New users get a 30-day free trial through the MyAirtel app before it folds into eligible data bundles; no standalone price has been published.

The partnership goes back to 16 December 2025, when Airtel Africa and SpaceX announced Direct-to-Cell coverage across all 14 of Airtel's markets and 173.8 million customers. Airtel CEO Sunil Taldar said the satellites reach areas "where deploying terrestrial network solutions are challenging." The same agreement already promises a next-generation broadband upgrade offering 20 times today's data speed, though no date has been set for it.

DRC wasn't the first test site, though. Airtel and SpaceX confirmed on 24 March that a Kenya pilot had successfully carried WhatsApp, maps and mobile money transactions over satellite in areas with no signal at all, and said the same testing would inform an eventual voice-calling and broadband upgrade called Starlink Mobile V2. None of that has become a Kenyan launch yet: the Communications Authority is still reviewing possible interference with other operators' frequencies, and Starlink separately needs its own gateway licence under the CA's 2026 framework, priced at KES 15 million for 15 years or KES 45 million for 25, plus an annual fee equal to 0.4 percent of gross turnover. Airtel Kenya managing director Djibril Tobe has said the company is ready to sell the moment the CA signs off.

MTN Zambia finished its own direct-to-cell testing on 6 March and is still waiting on ZICTA. In South Africa, Starlink can't launch at all: SpaceX hasn't even filed a licence application, blocked by an ownership rule a pending amendment bill may or may not resolve. MTN and Vodacom's own satellite bets there run through other partners, Lynk Global and AST SpaceMobile, neither of which is commercial yet either. Airtel's edge in the DRC looks less like a technology lead over its rivals and more like the result of which regulator moved first.

What comes next is voice calls and faster satellite broadband, rolled out market by market as regulators give their approval. The DRC is the first proof that the model works commercially. Kenya, Zambia and South Africa could follow, but the next move is now in the hands of their regulators, not Starlink.