Starlink Malaysia Trial Puts D2C Coverage Gap In Focus

Starlink's proposed direct-to-cell trial in Malaysia would test whether satellite-to-phone service can shorten a coverage problem that new towers solve slowly.

Light Reading reported on July 31, 2026, that Starlink representatives met Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and proposed a D2C trial for remote areas beyond the practical reach of terrestrial mobile networks.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has been asked to arrange discussions between local telecom companies and Starlink.

The deployment question is narrow but material: D2C can extend basic connectivity without a tower build, but operators and regulators still have to decide where the service fits beside planned terrestrial infrastructure.

Malaysia Weighs Starlink Trial Against Tower Economics

Fahmi linked the proposed trial to places with no telecom towers or populations too sparse to justify new sites.

Fahmi said his remarks came on July 29 during a memorandum of understanding between MCMC and the Malaysian Highway Authority for 77 new telecom towers across 50 kilometers of highway.

The tower programme gives the satellite proposal its operating contrast.

Operators generally spend 18 to 24 months bringing one tower from build decision to service, while Starlink's plan would test coverage in locations where that construction cycle is impractical or uneconomic.

The proposal remains a trial, not an approved commercial deployment.

MCMC began examining D2C satellite technology in 2024 and spoke with three foreign providers.

At that time, no formal applications had been submitted, and Fahmi treated the technology as largely trial-stage.

The ministry was considering a Malaysian introduction in 2026 or 2027.

APAC Activity Moves Ahead Of Malaysia Decision

Malaysia is considering the trial after Globe Telecom launched Starlink Mobile in the Philippines, giving Southeast Asia a commercial Starlink direct-to-cell reference point.

Ookla data showed that devices were registering on Starlink's D2C network in the Philippines as early as January 2026.

Unique devices using D2C technology across four APAC markets grew more than fivefold between July 2025 and May 2026.

The Philippines supplied most of that growth.

Australia, New Zealand and Japan produced 63.1% growth over that ten-month window, but did not account for most new detected devices.

Ookla’s APAC data showed the regional mix shifting quickly.

Australia held 79.9% of detected users in Q4 2025, but the Philippines moved ahead one quarter later with 56.1% of the base.

By Q2 2026, the Philippines held 64% against Australia's 28.5%, before Globe had completed its first full month of service.

Signal Geometry Remains The Deployment Constraint

Usage figures do not remove the radio constraint.

Ookla analyst Affandy Johan said population scale helped drive the Philippines increase, but the January-to-June 2026 comparison showed a different usage rhythm: the Philippine scan frequency was a little above one third of the Australian rate.

The constellation pattern is the harder engineering limit for equatorial markets.

The Philippines had 15.5% of scans at -118 dBm or stronger, a level treated as reasonable for a satellite link, and that share was slightly above half the level recorded in Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

Commercial launches elsewhere show how quickly carrier satellite messaging is becoming a normal mobile-network feature.

New Zealand's One NZ activated a carrier-run nationwide satellite texting service in December 2024.

The regional data also showed six commercial services based on Starlink across four markets after an 18-month interval.

Japan's KDDI, SoftBank and NTT Docomo offer free Starlink messaging, while Telstra includes satellite texting in Australian postpaid plans.

Malaysia's next proof point is procedural and technical rather than promotional: local operator meetings, a formal application path, and field evidence that second-generation satellites from 2027 onwards can improve service in equatorial coverage zones.