Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, announced the launch of the Viber and WhatsApp messaging apps and the Google Maps navigation app via Starlink Direct to Cell (D2C, direct satellite connection to a smartphone) technology in Light Data mode, the company's president and CEO, Oleksandr Komarov, said during a briefing on Monday in Kyiv.
"These are the first three apps to be launched, and they will be fully operational starting June 15 as part of the D2C [Starlink Direct to Cell] technology. They will utilize mobile data transmission via satellite networks in the absence of terrestrial networks from Ukrainian telecom operators," the CEO of Kyivstar said.
Kyivstar explained that subscribers can test the new technology within their existing rate plans or by activating the "Superpower" feature "There's a Connection," which provides free access to Viber, WhatsApp, and Google Maps, as well as access to test the aforementioned apps without using up data on the Kyivstar|SpaceX network.
According to Komarov, if necessary, customers will also be able to subscribe to a separate "There's a Connection" package costing UAH 99 per month if all available "superpower" slots are already taken and they do not want to give up other active services.
As part of the launch of the new phase of Starlink Direct to Cell, users will be able to exchange text messages, images, GIFs, video and audio messages, as well as use Google Maps for navigation.
Currently, the service is available for Android smartphones with 4G (LTE) support, and in the third quarter of this year, the company plans to expand it to iOS devices as well.
Komarov also announced plans to gradually expand the list of apps that will work via Light Data. In particular, the company is considering the possibility of integrating government services, such as Diia, as well as financial apps.
"We will focus on systematically increasing the number of apps that will work with Starlink Direct to Cell's Light Data technology. And the next stage will be calls and voice services," the mobile operator's CEO said.
The operator is also working on developing satellite services for corporate clients (B2B).
According to Komarov, the company is providing access to Light Data testing on machine-to-machine (M2M) SIM cards, which will enable the use of satellite technology for data transmission between devices across virtually the entire territory of Ukraine.
In addition, Kyivstar is working on integrating terrestrial and satellite networks, viewing them as complementary technologies.
According to Komarov, there are still about 500 sparsely populated areas in Ukraine where there is no cellular coverage.
"There are approximately 5,000 settlements where we would like to improve coverage quality, but the business case there isn't very strong because these are very sparsely populated areas," Kyivstar's CEO said.
It is noted that the operator is currently continuing to strengthen network resilience, expand coverage, and develop integration between terrestrial and satellite networks.
Since the launch of Starlink Direct to Cell technology last autumn, more than 6 million subscribers have used it at least once. The number of SMS messages transmitted via the network exceeds 10 million (incoming and outgoing), of which more than 6 million were sent or received in January and February during widespread blackouts.
"If we look at the last 30 days, out of one million SMS messages received and sent using satellite technology, 600,000 were sent from areas very close to the front lines," Komarov said.
As previously reported, Kyivstar increased its consolidated EBITDA by 28.5% to UAH 7.5 billion in the first quarter of 2026, while revenue rose by 31.3% to UAH 13.9 billion.
