Starlink has reportedly expressed curiosity in trialling its direct-to-cell (D2C) satellite tv for pc service in Malaysia, with the goal of closing the mobile protection hole in distant areas that terrestrial networks can not attain.
Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil introduced that he had met with Starlink representatives, who proposed the trial.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee (MCMC) has been requested to rearrange a gathering between the nation’s telecom firms and Starlink to debate potential deployment of the expertise.
“This might mark a major technological leap if applied, because it means web connectivity might be supplied through satellite tv for pc in sure areas the place there aren’t any telecommunications towers or the place the inhabitants is simply too sparse to justify such infrastructure,” Fahmi stated, as quoted by The Edge Malaysia.
Fahmi made his remarks on Wednesday (July 29) through the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the MCMC and the Malaysian Freeway Authority for the development of 77 new telecom towers throughout 50 kilometers of freeway to assist good visitors administration and security methods.
He famous that D2C satellite tv for pc connectivity might assist tackle protection gaps in areas the place constructing a brand new telecom tower can be impractical or uneconomical. He added that establishing a brand new cellular tower often takes between 18 and 24 months.
The MCMC started investigating D2C satellite tv for pc expertise in 2024, talking with three overseas firms that supplied it. Nonetheless, no formal purposes had been submitted. Fahmi acknowledged that the D2C expertise was largely at a trial stage on the time.
The ministry was contemplating introducing the expertise in Malaysia by 2026 or 2027.
Pre-launch D2D exercise within the Philippines
The plan to trial D2C satellite tv for pc expertise in Malaysia comes a month after Globe Telecom’s industrial launch of Starlink Cellular within the Philippines. That is the primary commercially accessible Starlink direct-to-cell service in Southeast Asia.
In keeping with a report printed by Ookla this week, D2C exercise within the Philippines started a number of months earlier than the industrial launch, with gadgets being registered on Starlink’s D2C community as early as January 2026.
The report famous that the variety of distinctive gadgets utilizing D2C expertise throughout 4 APAC markets grew greater than fivefold between July 2025 and Could 2026, with the Philippines accounting for almost all of this development.
In keeping with Ookla, the Philippines accounted for many of that improve, whereas Australia, New Zealand and Japan grew a mixed 63.1% over the identical ten months. Australia initially dominated with 79.9% of detected customers in This autumn 2025. One quarter later, the Philippines had overtaken it with 56.1% of the regional base. By Q2 2026, the Philippines held 64% in opposition to Australia’s 28.5%, earlier than Globe’s service reached its first full month of operation.
(Supply: Ookla)
“This fast development is probably going pushed by inhabitants scale. The Philippines has greater than 4 instances Australia’s inhabitants, with tens of tens of millions of appropriate LTE Android gadgets already out there, and, in Globe’s phrases, tens of millions of Filipinos in far-flung and disaster-prone areas past terrestrial attain,” stated Affandy Johan, report creator and Ookla business analyst.
Nonetheless, Johan identified that, even with this excessive quantity, the variety of detected customers within the Philippines from January to June 2026 was lower than half that in Australia when adjusted for inhabitants. Moreover, every detected consumer within the Philippines appeared on the community simply over a 3rd as usually as in Australia.
Fast enlargement throughout APAC
The Ookla report confirmed that D2C satellite tv for pc service is increasing quickly throughout the Asia-Pacific area typically.
This area noticed the launch of the world’s first carrier-run, nationwide satellite tv for pc texting service when New Zealand’s One NZ activated it on its cellular community in December 2024.
Simply 18 months later, six Starlink-based industrial providers have been working throughout 4 markets. In Japan, KDDI, SoftBank and NTT Docomo now provide free Starlink messaging, whereas in Australia, Telstra consists of satellite tv for pc texting in its postpaid plans.
In June 2026, Globe Telecom opened the primary industrial D2D service in Southeast Asia.
The report provided a number of different key takeaways:
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Australia and New Zealand present the best ranges of detected D2D exercise within the area. Between January and June 2026, detected customers averaged 25.7 and 23 background scans per thirty days in Australia and New Zealand, respectively, in comparison with roughly 4 per detected consumer within the UK. Exercise in each markets rose by the southern heat season to a peak in April, then eased as winter set in.
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In Japan, widespread and free entry has but to lead to sustained use. Three Japanese operators provide free Starlink messaging, and inside ten weeks of launch, Docomo counted 5 million related customers. Nonetheless, utilizing Android machine insights, that are restricted in iPhone-heavy Japan, exhibits that the consumer base detected in June 2026 will probably be roughly half of that in July 2025, with customers averaging 7.6 scans per thirty days – lower than a 3rd of Australia’s determine.
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Present constellation geometry works in opposition to markets within the area that want D2C connectivity probably the most. Within the Philippines, solely 15.5% of sign scans reached -118 dBm or higher – an affordable sign degree for a satellite tv for pc hyperlink – which is simply over half the share recorded in Australia, Japan and New Zealand. It’s because Starlink’s satellites orbit at an altitude that gives higher protection at mid-latitudes than on the equator, the place the Philippines is positioned. The arrival of second-generation satellites from 2027 onwards ought to slim that hole.
