PH Claims Historic First in Southeast Asian Connectivity

The Philippines has officially become the first country in Southeast Asia to adopt Direct-to-Cell (DTC) satellite technology.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) welcomes this landmark achievement for regional connectivity, spearheaded by a partnership between Globe Telecom and SpaceX’s Starlink— as a major step toward total digital inclusion.

How does it work? Traditional mobile networks rely on land-based towers which often cannot reach isolated areas or mountainous terrain. Direct-to-Cell technology bypasses these physical barriers by using a constellation of over 650 low-Earth orbit satellites that act as cell towers in space.

The technology is designed to support voice calls, text messaging, video calls, and mobile data.
Because the signal comes from space, connectivity remains active even during power outages or when ground-based towers are knocked down by natural disasters. Coastal zones, isolated islands, and mountain communities that have never had a signal will finally be connected.

The initiative aims to provide a signal to over 63.1 million users, specifically targeting unserved areas.

In a country frequently hit by typhoons and earthquakes, this technology ensures that no Filipino will be left offline, even during emergencies and disasters.

The Philippines joins a select group of global leaders, including the United States, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, in pioneering space-based connectivity.

Official testing begins this year with a primary focus on disaster-prone zones and remote islands.