Globe cues Android-first rollout of ‘cell-to-sat’ tech in June

Globe Telecom Inc. will begin the phased rollout of its “direct-to-cell satellite” service in June, initially limiting access to Android users as it expands mobile coverage to far-flung areas beyond the reach of terrestrial cell sites.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Globe chief commercial officer Darius Delgado said iOS compatibility would follow later as the telco scales up the service it launched earlier this year with Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet Services Philippines Inc.

Globe plans to offer subscriptions starting at P99 for 30 days and P299 for 90 days. Platinum subscribers will receive complimentary access, while select postpaid users will be given free allocations during the initial rollout.

This service would allow compatible mobile phones to connect directly to satellites without requiring external satellite devices or dishes, although users must have a direct line of sight to the sky.

Globe launched the partnership in January to reach the remaining 4 percent of the Philippine population still outside terrestrial mobile coverage. The service could also help expand the company’s mobile subscriber base, which stood at 67 million as of end-March.

According to Delgado, the technology has already undergone field tests led by the Department of Information and Communications Technology in Basilan and Bulacan.

Globe said tests in Bulacan allowed users not only to send text messages but also make calls through messaging platform WhatsApp.

“If it works in Basilan, it can work anywhere else in the Philippines,” he said.

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The rollout will initially focus on geographically isolated communities in the Visayas and northern Philippines, where building and maintaining conventional cell towers remains difficult and costly.

“There are still places where traditional terrestrial towers simply cannot reach consistently, and not just consistently, not economical as well,” Delgado said.

Beyond consumer use, Globe said the satellite-to-mobile technology could support mining, logistics and energy firms operating in areas with weak or no signal coverage, particularly for emergency alerts and monitoring systems.

Globe is the first telco in Southeast Asia to launch the Starlink-powered technology, which uses the American company’s network of more than 650 low-earth orbit satellites that function as “cellphone towers in space” to provide connectivity in mobile dead zones.