Direct-to-device (D2D) bypasses the need for dedicated satellite terminals or routers by embedding chips capable of communicating with satellites into mainstream devices. It is transforming how telcos and their customers think about what it means to stay connected. D2D unlocks several opportunities: blanketing underserved populations with coverage, providing backup connectivity in urban populations, incorporating an additional layer of redundancy for critical workers and/or IoT applications, and scaling up regular quality connectivity for verticals where terrestrial networks cannot offer scale. Whether these benefits can deliver the revenue uplift commensurate with the industry buzz surrounding D2D in Q1 2026 is another question.
Geostationary equatorial orbit satellites (GEOs) and a growing number of low-Earth orbit satellites (LEOs), such as Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, and Tiantong-1, as well as IoT-owned and enterprise-oriented providers such as Skylo (GEO) and Iridium (LEO), provide the orbital infrastructure that can function as extensions for telcos’ terrestrial mobile networks. Preliminary telco partnership strategies with satcos are now emerging. Recently, considerations on partnering with multiple satellite vendors and European sovereignty have emerged. On the former, Orange Group has partnered with at least four satcos. On the latter, Satellite Connect Europe – a JV between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile – signals an early effort to secure sovereignty in Europe, with Orange and Telefónica both having announced the intent to join the initiative.
What early D2D-adopter telcos are certainly not expecting is an immediate revenue uplift on their investments in this space. By the admission of a large operator like AT&T, which has its own D2D services lined up for launch later in 2026, D2D is “not an enormous business opportunity”; in the medium-term, returns are expected to be incremental, generated through premium coverage add-ons to niche customers on demand, and to enterprise and governmental customers targeting continuity in businesses and mission-critical cases. The aim right now for telecoms operators or MNOs [mobile network operators] is to build up operational experience in D2D services before standardisation.
