D2D satellite connections up nearly 25%, but mobile customer adoption stays low

Dawn Bushaus2026-04-24T11:42:00

Source: T-Mobile US

Report shows global D2D connections are rising but adoption remains niche, with less than 1% of mobile users in most markets using satellite‑to‑phone services and attempts to monetise services may be having an impact.

This article includes:

Themes: Adoption barriers; Business models for satellite services; Direct‑to‑device (D2D) connectivity; Monetisation strategies; Satellite‑to‑phone benchmarks; Service reliability; Spectrum‑based satellite services; Usage seasonality.
People: John Strand; Luke Kehoe; Mike Dano.
Geographic: Australia; Canada; Chile; Japan; Peru; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States.
Organisations: AST SpaceMobile; Blue Origin; Entel; KDDI; Kyivstar; Lynk; NTT Docomo; Rakuten; Rogers Communications; Skylo; SoftBank; Starlink; T‑Mobile US; Virgin Media O2.

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