Direct to cell satellite communications (SATCOM) users are projected to grow to 133 million by 2031, up from just 17.4 million users in 2026, according to new data from Juniper Research.
That’s a whopping compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50% during the five year period and show’s the growth of this technology as mobile network operators (MNOs) look for new revenue streams and new satellite vendors enter the market.
While this growth is large, it remains below initial expectation for direct to cell technologies.
What is direct-to-cell technology?
Direct-to-cell technology enables satellites to communicate directly with standard smartphones — no special hardware, no satellite phone or satellite terminal required.
Instead of a call or text going to a ground-based cell tower, it goes straight to a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite to the device. This could be useful for:
- People in remote areas
- Areas where cell infrastructure is weak
- Ocean-based facilities or transportation
- Mountain ranges
- Underdeveloped rural regions
- Enabling communications during natural disasters
SATCOM via direct-to-cell technology allows every square mile of the planet to become potentially serviceable, not just areas where it makes economic sense to build a cell tower.
“Consumer demand for D2C is currently concentrated to specific trips and travel, such as to national parks and nature reserves, rather than during everyday usage of mobile services,” said Alex Webb, researcher at Juniper.
However, Juniper Research said direct to cell could hold value for consumers living in or visiting rural or remote areas. Specifically, as the weather warms and consumers visit national parks and campgrounds.
Vendors making moves
Elon Musk’s Starlink, a division of SpaceX, launched its Starlink Mobile Service this year and the company recently signed a partnership with Deutsche Telekom that will allow users to automatically switch to Starlink’s SATCOM services when smartphones lose terrestrial service. In the U.S., Starlink launched a promotional bundle with U.S. mobile in April of 2026 for SATCOM coverage.
SpaceX also bought EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses for about $17 billion in 2025 in a move that will likely help it develop its second generation direct to cell technology with 5G protocols.
Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile has a planned roll out of SATCOM D2C technology in the U.S. and Japan for messaging, video and voice in 2026.
Amazon is also likely to get into the market after acquiring Globalstar for $11.6 billion in April of 2026. This deal will provide D2C services and is part of Amazon’s long-term vision for space-based connectivity. Amazon and Apple have already signed an agreement for Amazon Leo to power satellite services for its iPhone and Apple Watch so the deal will likely play a role there as well in the future.
It is likely this is just the beginning of the announcements for direct to cell, or SATCOM, technology, specifically from Taiwanese companies as they enter the supply chain for major players.
For the full research, see Juniper’s No Tower? No Problem: How Direct to Cell is Rewriting the Rules of Connectivity report.
