A phone with no signal bars can now send a WhatsApp message from the Congolese forest. Airtel Africa and Starlink switched on a commercial satellite-to-mobile service in the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 14, 2026, in Kinshasa.
It is the first time the technology has moved from pilot testing to a paid product anywhere on the continent.
The service works without a dish, an extra device, or a new SIM. A regular phone, once it leaves Airtel’s ground network, hands off to a satellite overhead and stays connected.
What the Service Does
Airtel customers with a compatible phone can send SMS and use WhatsApp in places no tower reaches, provided they have a clear view of the sky. There is no separate satellite terminal to buy or install. A satellite takes the place of a distant cell tower, broadcasting on the same frequencies a phone already uses, so the handset treats it as another network. The underlying technology is Starlink Direct to Cell, sold under the name Starlink Mobile.
The service handles text and messaging apps only, not video streaming or full browsing. Starlink runs roughly 650 satellites capable of this direct connection to ordinary phones, which the companies describe as the largest network of its kind in operation.
To connect, a customer needs an LTE Android phone plus an active Airtel DRC data bundle or roaming turned on. Apple devices are not supported yet; Airtel says support is planned. New users get thirty days free through the MyAirtel App before the service moves into regular data bundles.
Why Congo Went First
Congo is large, forested, and has limited roads, which slows and raises the cost of building cell towers across the country. Airtel DRC managing director Thierry Diasnoma said the country’s size and geography leave many people beyond the reach of conventional mobile infrastructure.
A DRC government fund tracking network coverage found national 2G coverage at 77%, 3G at 68%, and 4G at 57%, with wide gaps between regions. Kinshasa sits near 98% coverage while Tshuapa province sits at roughly 14%, leaving an estimated 4.3 million people across nearly 3,000 localities without any signal.
The Path Through Kenya
Airtel Africa and Starlink signed their partnership in December 2025, covering all fourteen Airtel African markets and roughly 174 million customers. Kenya became the test site: in March 2026 the two companies ran trials confirming that ordinary 4G smartphones could reach the satellite network without hardware changes, covering WhatsApp calls, maps, Facebook Messenger, and mobile money transactions through the Airtel app.
Kenya is still waiting on approval. Airtel Kenya says its pilot succeeded and the service is ready to sell, but the Communications Authority has not yet cleared it, partly over concerns that satellite transmissions could interfere with other operators on the same spectrum. Uganda and Madagascar have run their own trials; further expansion depends on each country’s regulator.
The regulatory question in Kenya predates this launch. In July 2024, Safaricom sent a memo to the Communications Authority arguing that satellite providers without a physical Kenyan presence could evade local regulations, cause interference, and operate outside the law. Safaricom has since said it is open to its own satellite partnerships, but Airtel’s head start with Starlink puts it ahead in the race to launch commercially.
Other Operators Are Also Moving
MTN had a working satellite link before Airtel launched anything commercial. In March 2026, MTN Zambia completed a field test that carried out the country’s first satellite data session and its first mobile money transaction sent over a satellite link, using MTN’s MoMo platform. That test still awaits sign-off from Zambia’s telecoms regulator before it can go live for paying customers.
MTN also holds an earlier milestone. In March 2025, MTN South Africa and satellite operator Lynk Global carried out Africa’s first satellite call to an unmodified handset in a technical trial near Vryburg, North West province. That stayed a trial rather than a paid service.
So the “first” claims in this space depend on the specific milestone. Airtel is first to sell the service commercially to paying customers. MTN recorded a working satellite call and a satellite fintech transaction earlier. Both point to the same trend: African operators increasingly treat satellite connectivity as a way to reach customers towers were never going to reach economically. A single rural cell tower can cost up to $150,000 to build, a cost satellite coverage avoids.
Who the Service Targets
Airtel is pitching the service beyond individual consumers, to logistics firms moving goods through remote corridors, humanitarian groups, health workers, farmers, and mining operations that work outside conventional coverage areas. It is also positioned as a backup during floods, conflict, or other events that knock out ground infrastructure.
Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar said the launch is a milestone for the company’s partnership with SpaceX, and that combining Airtel’s terrestrial network with Starlink’s satellite technology extends connectivity beyond the limits of conventional mobile infrastructure. He said the DRC deployment will guide expansion into other markets, subject to each country’s regulatory approval.
What Comes Next
Coverage today is limited to text and light apps. Voice calls, video, and full browsing are not part of this release, and Airtel has not published a timeline for adding them. Apple support is planned but not dated. Regulatory approval remains the main obstacle for every market beyond DRC, since satellite spectrum use has to clear each country’s telecoms authority first.
Starlink’s direct-to-cell network spans roughly 22 countries worldwide and reaches close to 400 million people through partners including Optus, Telstra, Rogers, and KDDI. Congo is the first place in Africa where that rollout became a product customers can buy. Kenya, given its head start in testing, is a likely candidate to follow once its regulator signs off.
