Nov 6 (Reuters) -

Elon Musk's Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, secured its

largest direct-to-cell deal yet with telecoms group Veon

, granting access to over 150 million potential

customers, both companies said on Thursday, as competition in

satellite-to-smartphone connectivity intensifies.

Direct-to-cell technology allows smartphones to connect to

satellite networks in space that beam telephone signals back to

Earth.

The market has gained momentum with significant investment aimed

at closing coverage gaps in remote areas.

The deal will enable Veon to integrate Starlink's service

into its networks, starting with operators Beeline in Kazakhstan

and Kyivstar ( KYIV ) in Ukraine. Veon also operates in

Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.

Kyivstar ( KYIV ) will launch the service in the fourth quarter of 2025,

with Beeline following in 2026. The Kazakhstan agreement was

announced during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to

Washington on Thursday.

"This is the biggest partnership in terms of addressable

customer base in the world," Ilya Polshakov, Kyivstar's ( KYIV ) new

business director who spearheaded Veon's satellite connectivity

efforts, told Reuters. "There will be more announced soon."

The partnership remains nonexclusive, allowing Veon to

pursue agreements with other satellite providers. CEO Kaan

Terzioglu told Reuters in August that Veon was in discussions

with Amazon's ( AMZN ) Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ),

and Eutelsat OneWeb.

"These plans with other players will be in 2027, 2028. I

don't want to wait. I want to develop business today," Polshakov

said.

Competitors including AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) and Amazon's ( AMZN ) Project

Kuiper are advancing their satellite constellations, with

initial commercial launches anticipated in 2026.

AST has already signed deals with Verizon and Saudi

carrier STC.

EchoStar ( SATS ) said on Thursday that it would expand its

previous deal with SpaceX to sell additional U.S. airwave rights

to Starlink for $2.6 billion, allowing Musk's company to access

more customers.

Starlink has more than 7 million users globally and partners

with telecom operators in 11 countries, including T-Mobile

in the U.S. and Rogers in Canada, operating

over 8,000 satellites, of which 650 are dedicated to

direct-to-cell services.