Starlink wins partial Brazil spectrum grant for satellite-to-phone service
Brazil's ANATEL granted Starlink 15+15 MHz of S-band spectrum for direct-to-cell service, half of what it requested.
what happened
Brazil's telecom regulator ANATEL voted Oct. 9 to grant Starlink 15+15 MHz of S-band spectrum (1,995-2,010 MHz uplink, 2,185-2,200 MHz downlink) for direct-to-cell satellite service, per TELETIME News, half of the roughly 25+25 MHz the company had requested but more than ANATEL's technical staff had initially proposed. Starlink will pay a one-time public price of R$102,677 for the grant, with exploitation rights running to 2029 or 2039 depending on the sub-band, per TELETIME; ANATEL separately directed its technical team to prioritize IoT satellite applications in the adjacent spectrum blocks, and one council member dissented from the approval. Starlink itself described the vote as approving its "full access to the 2 GHz spectrum," per the company's statement quoted by TELETIME, though the amount actually granted was half of what it had sought.
why it matters
Brazil is Starlink's second-largest Latin American market, with more than 1 million subscribers, so direct-to-cell spectrum access there is a bigger near-term commercial opening than Venezuela's authorization three days earlier. The partial award, and ANATEL's stated priority for IoT coexistence in adjacent bands, sets the real ceiling resellers and roaming partners should plan around, not the company's own "full access" framing of the vote.
for who
Starlink Mobile resellers and MNO roaming partners in Brazil
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- SpaceX
- Category
- regulatory
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-10-09
- Published
- 2026-10-12 16:24 UTC