Millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo can now connect to the internet without a cell tower in sight.
Airtel Africa and SpaceX have switched on Starlink’s satellite-to-mobile service in the country, marking the first commercial rollout of the technology anywhere on the continent.
The service, called Direct-to-Cell, lets compatible smartphones link straight to Starlink satellites in areas without terrestrial network coverage. No dish, no separate device — just a phone that can already send a text message.
What It Actually Does
For now, the capability is narrow. Airtel says the service supports light data applications including WhatsApp and SMS, with no external equipment required. Full web browsing or video streaming isn’t part of the package yet.
That limitation is by design, not oversight. Direct-to-Cell operates within tight power and spectrum limits, so starting with low-bandwidth services reduces risk and allows smooth integration with terrestrial networks. Speeds today sit below 1 megabit per second, though Airtel has said newer satellites should push that considerably higher.
A Bigger Rollout Behind It
The launch follows the strategic partnership between Airtel Africa and Starlink announced in December 2025 and successful testing of Starlink’s mobile data and messaging services in Kenya in March 2026. The DRC is simply the first market where the pilot has become a commercial product.
Congo’s head start comes down to paperwork. Since May 2025, SpaceX’s local subsidiary has been authorised to operate in the country after receiving an operating licence from the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, clearing the regulatory path months before rivals elsewhere.
Airtel has signaled this is only the opening move. Airtel Africa announced it has signed a deal with SpaceX to launch Starlink’s Direct to Cell service across all of its 14 markets across the continent sometime next year, subject to approvals in each country.
Why Congo, and Why It Matters
The economics are straightforward. Building a cell tower in remote terrain can run up to $150,000 per tower, a cost that has kept vast stretches of rural Africa offline. Satellite coverage sidesteps that math entirely. This initiative addresses Africa’s connectivity gap, where 64% of the population lacks mobile internet access.
The technology works by turning satellites into mobile towers in orbit. Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell network includes over 650 satellites, each functioning like a cell tower in space, picking up phone signals directly and routing them through Airtel’s core network as though the user were roaming.
Airtel frames this as filling gaps, not replacing infrastructure. The company has pointed to rural, remote, and hard-to-reach areas where building and maintaining towers remains uneconomic as the primary target — national parks, border regions, and areas cut off during conflict or disaster.
The Spectrum Question
A recent filing sheds light on how Airtel DRC intends to operate the service technically. According to correspondence reviewed by TechnoMag, the proposed direct-to-cell operations will use 1965 MHz for uplink and 2155 MHz for downlink, running on spectrum Airtel already holds under its national license — a detail that matters for how regulators elsewhere might treat similar rollouts.
