Satellite D2D goes global as Africa gears up for service launches – GSA
July 13th 2026
African operators now have 32 direct-to-device (D2D) partnerships, according to an update from the GSA. Meanwhile, partnerships between operators and satellite companies in 18 countries have now launched D2D services.
Direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity is still being offered by a relatively small number of mobile operators, but services are set to go global this year as African operators gear up to launch services.
According to the latest review of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) 5G networks and satellite connectivity market by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), as in other markets Africa’s mobile players are teaming up with satellite providers in order to offer D2D services beyond the reach of their mobile networks, with 32 partnerships announced to date.
These include Airlink’s partnership with Starlink for its 14 markets, with tests of data and messaging services recently carried out in Kenya. In addition, AST SpaceMobile has tied with Axian Telecom, which operates in 11 markets in Africa, as well as Vodacom, and Lynk has been trialling its services with MTN in Ghana and South Africa.
During a webinar to discuss latest NTN trends, Joe Gardiner, market analyst at CCS Insight and a member of the GSA research team, said operators in 18 countries have now launched satellite D2D services. “The technology, though it’s still early days, really has become global,” he observed.
GSA research shows that there are now 123 publicly announced D2D partnerships, of which 23 have now launched a service. A further 27 are evaluating, testing or trialling the service, while 73 partnerships are in the planning phase.
Starlink in the lead, but others are building footholds
Starlink accounts for the highest number of partnerships at 99, followed by AST SpaceMobile (44), Amazon Leo (30), Eutelsat Group (29), Lynk (21), SES Group (19) and Skylo (10). Also in the mix are Omnispace (five), Hughes (four), Viasat Group (four), OQ Technology (three), Sateliot (three), Iridium, which is being acquired by Rocket Lab (two), Rassvet (two) and Tiantong (two).
Many mobile operators are pursuing a multivendor approach, as particularly illustrated by Orange. For example, the group has tied with Skylo in France, AST SpaceMobile, Satellite Connect Europe — Vodafone’s space infra joint venture with AST SpaceMobile — and Starlink for D2D and also has ties with Eutelsat and OneWeb, Intelsat and Telesat.
Gardiner noted that most of these partnerships are using spectrum from terrestrial operators, at least initially, as demonstrated by T-Mobile’s arrangement with Starlink in the US.
However, he pointed to the growing interest in mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum as it supports a 3GPP-compatible, globally harmonized and standardized approach to D2D that would also underpin a broader device ecosystem. As things stand, the GSA counts 46 devices that are MSS-compatible, although not all of them are technology neutral.
“There’s still a long way to go, but we are seeing more ecosystem development, and hopefully there should be more solutions that are more interoperable across satellite constellations as we move forward, and as we move towards all devices being [compatible with] 3GPP Release 17 or later,” Gardiner said.
He added that more work is needed in this area because the direction of travel is clearly towards a 3GPP standards-based approach using spectrum bands such as those allocated for MSS (L-band and S-band, for example).
He pointed to recent developments at government level, with Canada, the EU and the UK all announcing their proposals for MSS-licensed spectrum in the 2GHz band. On the commercial side there are Rocket Lab’s acquisition of Iridium, Amazon Leo’s takeover of Globalstar, and Starlink parent SpaceX’s purchase of Echostar frequencies.
Gardiner noted that Skylo is the only operator that’s really offering a standards-based approach to a live service. Its network is based on 3GPP standards for narrowband (NB) NTN and can also support the next iteration, 5G new radio (NR) NTN, to create what the company calls “the standardized sky.” Skylo does not have its own satellites or spectrum, instead relying on GEO satellite operator partners including EchoStar, Ligado, Terrestar and ViaSat.
“What we’re seeing, though, is that there is a growing interest [among] LEO providers to offer a 3GPP standards approach,” Gardiner concluded.
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