Ukrainian telco Kyivstar has launched Starlink's Direct to Cell satellite service for its subscribers, making the war-torn nation the first in Europe to offer it.

The technology provides phone connectivity when terrestrial networks are unavailable and is currently in trial for all Kyivstar customers. It initially supports only SMS messaging, but the company plans to add "light data with voice and video capabilities."

Access to this service will be provided to all Kyivstar subscribers at no additional cost, the firm says.

As Direct to Cell works with existing smartphones, subscribers should not have to upgrade their devices to use it. However, Kyivstar says access is currently only available to those with Android handsets, with Apple support promised later.

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