Starlink Mobile launches nationwide in Brazil with Vivo, its biggest D2D market yet
SpaceX · Vivo
Starlink Mobile launched nationwide in Brazil via Vivo, reaching 50 million eligible customers; 7 million phones already connected.
what happened
Vivo activated Vivo Satelite, a satellite-to-mobile service built on Starlink's direct-to-device network, across all of Brazil on Oct. 26, giving roughly 50 million eligible Vivo customers access to messaging and mapping apps in cellular dead zones, per Vivo operations director Alex Salgado and TeleTime. Consumer customers get 12 months of free access and business customers three months; the service currently supports WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, iMessage, Google Messages, Google Maps, Apple Maps and the Vivo app, with postpaid, control and Lite plan customers eligible along with prepaid customers who recharge above R$30, per TeleTime. Starlink said on X that 7 million phones were already connected and called it "the first nationwide service to cover the entire country," with broader data and voice access promised once Starlink's next-generation satellites launch.
why it matters
Brazil is Starlink Mobile's largest market to date by eligible subscriber count, a concrete proof point for SpaceX's direct-to-device ambitions as it pursues additional spectrum and carrier deals elsewhere. The bundled 12-month free period mirrors the promotional terms Starlink has used to seed adoption in smaller D2D markets like Kazakhstan and Ecuador, signaling how it plans to convert free trials into paid connectivity once higher-capacity satellites arrive.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- SpaceX, Vivo
- Category
- product
- Impact
- major
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-10-26
- Published
- 2026-10-29 14:03 UTC