Globe Telecom is about to make the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to roll out Starlink’s direct‑to‑cell satellite service, and what’s drawing the most attention is the prepaid promos: ₱99 (roughly $1.61) for 30 days and ₱299 ($4.85) for 90 days.
Those bite‑sized passes, first spotted in leaked GCash screenshots earlier this month, are now officially confirmed by Globe, though the company is still keeping the exact data and text allocations under wraps. What’s clear is that usage will eventually be tracked through the GlobeOne app, and the pricing puts satellite connectivity within reach of everyday prepaid users, including those on the TM network.
The service itself officially goes live in early June, letting standard Android LTE smartphones beam signals straight to orbit when terrestrial towers fail. No dish, no bulky hardware — just toggle data roaming and your phone pings Starlink’s low‑Earth orbit satellites.
Globe Platinum customers get the service bundled for free, and select postpaid subscribers will also be included once qualifying tiers are finalized. Apple iPhone users, however, will have to wait; the rollout is Android‑only at launch, with iOS support promised but not yet scheduled.
Globe has been quietly testing the technology since March in Rizal, Batangas, and Bataan, and on May 21, it pulled off a proof‑of‑concept that connected Obando, Bulacan, to Basilan via live video call and SMS with no terrestrial coverage. Chief Executive Officer Carl Cruz said apps like Viber, WhatsApp, GCash, and eGov PH worked seamlessly during trials, showing that this isn’t just an emergency backup but a functional extension of day‑to‑day connectivity.
For an archipelago notorious for signal black spots, Globe’s Starlink integration is a big leap. By baking satellite connectivity directly into its mobile ecosystem instead of spinning it off into a niche product, Globe is positioning the Philippines at the forefront of direct‑to‑cell technology — and those ₱99 ($1.61) and ₱299 ($4.85) passes could be the tipping point that makes space‑powered service mainstream.
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