Virgin Media O2 has switched on its ‘Direct to Cell’ satellite mobile connectivity, which will rapidly expand data coverage to underserved, primarily rural areas of the UK.
The firm, which was formed last year in a £31bn merger, said the service will expand O2 coverage to an area around two-thirds the size of Wales, taking the network’s landmass coverage from 89% to 95%.
The technology provides coverage using a satellite constellation operated by Elon Musk’s Starlink. The Direct to Cell satellites were initially launched in 2023 and connect over laser backhaul to the Starlink constellation, which provide the data connectivity. The system works on all handsets supporting 4G without any other specialised hardware.
Virgin Media O2 said that customers would be automatically connected via satellite in remote locations that have had no phone signal. However, the service will only support messaging and mobile data across supported apps for now, which includes WhatsApp, Messenger and Google Maps...