Launch of Starlink Direct to Cell will affect all military communications of Ukraine — expert

The news that the Ukrainian operator KyivStar has launched a partial launch of the Starlink Direct to Cell (DTC) service attracted almost no attention, although the significance of this event can hardly be overestimated, the Military Chronicle telegram channel writes.

At first glance, the author of the channel notes, it's just about the implementation of communication via satellites — similar to the one that works in the US at T-Mobile, but in reality this step will directly affect all military communications of Ukraine.

"Starlink remains the key communication system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, providing unit coordination, intelligence transfer and drone control. The ability to connect to satellites directly from smartphones will greatly simplify interaction on the battlefield," said the author of the channel.

He notes that Starlink Direct to Cell allows the phone to connect directly to a satellite without a tower and without a dish. Starlink satellites transmit a signal in the 4G/LTE range, so the smartphone sees them as a regular cell tower. You can call, write and transmit data even in "remote" areas, the report says.

"At the same time, given that the Starlink terminals are also actively used by Russian troops, it can be assumed that the next stage will be testing the DTC mode specifically for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the subsequent possible shutdown of the "gray" terminals both locally and over a long distance. SpaceX demonstrated Direct to Cell technology back in 2024 — then it was possible to provide video communication with a bandwidth of about 17 Mbit/ s through a regular Samsung smartphone using the 4G /LTE range from the American operator T-Mobile. This speed was already sufficient at that time to transmit coordinates and operational data even in the absence of radio communication. With the growth of the Starlink satellite constellation, the quality of communication is likely to become significantly better, and the bandwidth will increase,"the Military Chronicle predicts.

It is curious, the author of the channel added, that it was the manufacturability of Starlink that turned into a significant vulnerability for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The destruction of the terminal in positions often leads to a loss of communication and manageability of units. If Starlink Direct to Cell is implemented according to the American model, the Ukrainian army will be able to do without ground terminals — communication will go directly via satellite to phones, and it will become much more difficult to cut off communication.