The launch of Starlink Mobile’s direct-to-device (D2D) services in Chile, Ukraine, Peru, the U.K., and other countries has helped drive a 24.5% increase in the number of global D2D connections recorded by Ookla.

However, growth isn’t universal across the globe. The increase in those countries was somewhat offset by declines in the world’s largest markets — the U.S. and Canada — in recent months. The U.S. leads the world in D2D connections, accounting for nearly half (45.9%) of all global D2D connections in March 2026. That puts the U.S. ahead of Australia (18.1%), Chile (10%), and Canada (9.8%).

Starlink was the top provider of these D2D samples, while Skylo and Lynk Global also featured among the samples.

However, the number of connections is still relatively small. During March 2026, 0.46% of Speedtest users in the U.S. recorded a connection to a D2D satellite.

Those who attempt to connect tend to find success: The RootMetrics drive testing conducted on Starlink’s D2D service for T-Mobile in rural New York state showed a 60% success rate. The average amount of time it took to successfully send and then receive a text (across 143 successful tests) was 1 minute, 17 seconds.

In the United States, the majority of D2D signal strength measurements fell between -108 and -126 dBm, outside of the -80 to -120 dBm range of traditional, terrestrial cellular network measurements.

Ookla noted that it wasn’t too long ago that connecting a smartphone to a satellite seemed more science fiction than technological possibility. But the recent success with Starlink and satellite providers has significant implications for cellular network providers, telecom regulators, cell tower operators, and equipment vendors.

Though there has been some success so far, the D2D technology is still maturing. Most such connections can only transmit a few bytes of data. The service is commercially available in just a handful of countries.