O2 Satellite has launched for Apple iPhone -owning Virgin Media O2 customers in the UK, significantly increasing communications coverage when adventuring in the more remote parts of the country.

It is notable as the first service of its kind to bring this sort of “direct to device” service to Europe. O2 Satellite uses Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellite network, which is a subsidiary of SpaceX, and will be available from 28 May.

The concept is fairly simple. When an iPhone user is an area that doesn’t have any conventional cellular coverage, O2 Satellite can take over. Virgin Media O2 claims this boosts the network’s UK landmass coverage to 95 per cent, up from 89 per cent.

Typical locations where this kind of satellite communication will be useful include high up mountains, where you’ll often struggle to get any signal at all, let alone 5G.

Reality TV star Spencer Matthews took part in a six-ascent run of Snowdon as part of the service’s launch marketing, completing the six ascents and descents in 22 hours and 41 minutes.

Virgin Media O2’s coverage map shows why O2 Satellite is still a few percentage points away from near-absolute coverage — the highest points in Scotland are not covered by Starlink satellite, and neither are a few coastal areas including popular holiday spot Blackpool. But the vast majority of the UK is.

O2 Satellite is included with Virgin Media O2’s Ultimate tier plans, and is also available as a £3 monthly bolt-on service.

“Expanding the service to iPhone users is a major step forward in making this new, groundbreaking technology accessible to more customers,” says Chris Bournes, O2 Virgin Media’s Commercial Director. “Whether you’re hiking, travelling or in a remote part of the UK, O2 Satellite helps ensure you can stay connected when you need it most.”

Simplicity and the lack of a need for additional expensive tech are the key draws here. The more traditional route to this kind of satellite communication is something like the Garmin InReach Mini 3 . It’s a dedicated satellite communicator whose plans start at $7.99 a month, rising to $49.99 a month for the top InReach Premium subscription.

It’s a fairly expensive way to communicate, and higher-cost memberships increase the number of satellite text, photo and voice messages included per month.

O2 Satellite is simpler, and cheaper, but also has some key limitations you might not initially expect. It does not allow for satellite texts or calls, and instead supports a fistful of apps, including WhatsApp. As such, it’s not a like-for-like replacement for devices like those of the Garmin InReach series for many adventuring types.

Here’s the full list of supported apps:

  • AccuWeather
  • AllTrails
  • Apple Compass
  • Apple Fitness
  • Apple Maps
  • Apple Messages
  • Apple Music
  • Apple Weather
  • BBC Weather
  • Google Maps
  • Messenger
  • WhatsApp
  • X
  • Yahoo Mail

O2 Satellite initially launched in February 2026, with support limited to Samsung Galaxy S25-series phones.

From May 28, iPhones can get in on the action too. And, surprisingly, it’s not only iPhones with dedicated satellite communications hardware that can use O2 Satellite. That was introduced in the iPhone 14 series, but the iPhone 13 family is supported too.

This is because iPhone 13 phones gained support for Carrier Satellite Connectivity with iOS 18.5.

O2 Satellite’s kind of network-enabled satellite communication remains a rarity. In the U.S. it is offered by T-Mobile with its T-Satellite with Starlink service, which can be added to plans for $10 a month.