US users account for almost half of the satellite-to-phone connections

Almost half of the D2D (direct-to-device) connections as of March 2026 were made by US users – 45.9%, shows the latest Ookla data. Distant second is Australia with 18.1%, Chile is third with 10%, with Canada and the UK accounting for 9.8% and 4.5%, respectively.

Still a minority

Even though D2D activity is inflating, the sheer number of users who use this service remains microscopic. As the stats show, the share of unique monthly D2D users (in the US in March 2026) was a mere 0.46% of all cellular users.

Other countries show similar numbers, so it’s not some US anomaly.

Don’t people love satellites?

This could be in part because few people even know that their phone could talk to a satellite, but in reality, terrestrial-based networks already cover 96% of the global population. Hence, one does not need to connect their phone to a satellite that often.

For example, when I’m enjoying The Great Outdoors, I’m kind of happy if I see that there’s no 5G, 4G, 3G or whatever G and my phone becomes nothing more than a camera for an hour or two.

It’s a limited service

You can forget about playing your favorite competitive mobile game in the middle of nowhere via satellite. The D2D service is limited and even T-Satellite, the T-Mobile + Starlink collaboration project, allows you only several things.

It’s mainly designed for basic communication when you have no cellular signal. It lets you send and receive text messages and, in some cases, contact emergency services. You can’t use it for data-heavy tasks like browsing, streaming, or regular voice calls.

That’s for the moment. The service will surely upgrade at a point in the not-so-distant future. Then, cell tower operators will be kind of redundant in rural areas.

Funnily enough, tests showed that D2D works while moving, but with limits. In rural New York, about 60% of text attempts were successful during driving tests. On average, sending and receiving a message took around 1 minute and 17 seconds.

But the system works better when users are outside, standing still, and have a clear view of the sky.

The progress

So, direct-to-device connections are growing worldwide.

The Ookla data shows that D2D connections increased by about 24.5% between July 2025 and March 2026 – that’s in less than a year.

This growth came as Starlink expanded its service to more countries, including Chile, Ukraine, Peru, and the UK. However, the rise was partly reduced by fewer connections in the US and Canada, possibly due to new charges and seasonal usage changes.

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