INTERVIEW: Kyivstar customers in Ukraine flocked to a direct-to-device service using Starlink satellites, with 300,000 users signing up and 100,000 SMS sent within 24 hours of its launch, the head of parent Veon Group’s cloud and satellite business told Mobile World Live.

During MWC25 Doha, Ilya Polshakov (pictured), said the Starlink service provides a crucial point of differentiation for Kyivstar, though emphasised the resilience the satellite connectivity brings is the more important element for a war-torn country where power cuts are frequent.

“If you don’t have connectivity, now you have the possibility to get it”, Polshakov said.

“This is a very big milestone achieved for Ukraine”.

Veon is gearing up to add enhanced data to Kyivstar’s Starlink service, which is initially providing SMS. Polshakov said the plan is to do so in 2026, though highlighted this involves collaboration with OTT app providers to tweak their wares for satellite networks.

The group company also plans to expand availability in 2026, beginning with its operation in Kazakhstan.

Polshakov said Veon opted for Starlink because it already has 650 satellites in orbit, though indicated other service providers could be added in future as they achieve the scale required.

The deployment shows mobile operators should not fear satellite connectivity.

“Satellite connectivity is not [a] separate story, you are combining terrestrial with non-terrestrial” and extending the range of ground-based infrastructure.

Click here to view the full interview, in which Polshakov also discussed the potential to create new business opportunities and the edge terrestrial networks still hold over satellite alternatives.