Starlink hits 5 million NTT Docomo users in 2.5 months

More than 5 million subscribers in Japan had connected to Starlink Direct to Cell on NTT Docomo by July 9, 2026, roughly two and a half months after the service launched on April 27, 2026.

That pace stands out in satellite connectivity, which for years was largely limited to demos and emergency-only use. In this case, the service works directly on LTE smartphones rather than through a separate terminal. NTT Docomo positions it for places where terrestrial coverage falls short, including mountains, remote islands, and even at sea up to 12 nautical miles from shore.

Starlink Mobile, also called Direct to Cell, lets a smartphone connect to a satellite without an external antenna. In this setup, the satellite effectively acts as an LTE base station in orbit. That makes the service particularly relevant in Japan, where difficult terrain and frequent disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons can quickly turn backup communications into a necessity.

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There is already a competitive backdrop. In the US, SpaceX and T-Mobile are advancing a similar effort, while Apple has offered satellite SOS on iPhone via Globalstar since 2022. AST SpaceMobile is also testing direct satellite links to standard phones with AT&T and Vodafone. What sets the Japanese rollout apart, according to the source, is the visible scale of real-world adoption rather than a lab pilot.

For NTT Docomo, the milestone is notable on its own terms. The company remains Japan’s largest mobile operator and serves more than 90 million lines, so 5 million connections looks less like a short-lived spike and more like the first layer of a new service for a very large subscriber base. SoftBank and KDDI are also exploring satellite mobile service, so the next measure to watch will be regular use in places where conventional networks do not reach.