Prime Highlights

• O2 Business customers can now add satellite connectivity for £2.50 a month, exc. VAT, with the feature included by default on Ultimate plans, extending coverage to remote parts of the UK where normal signal fails.
• The service uses Starlink’s low Earth orbit satellites and a slice of 1800MHz spectrum to raise O2’s UK landmass coverage from 89 percent to 95 percent, connecting phones automatically once ground signal drops.

Key Facts

• Current support is limited to text messages and select apps like WhatsApp and Google Maps; voice and emergency calls are not yet available.
• O2’s business page still lists the feature as coming soon, and Starlink’s faster next-gen satellites are expected to reach orbit from 2027.

Background

O2 has extended its satellite-based mobile service to business customers across the UK. The Virgin Media-owned operator confirmed the move today, months after launching the consumer version of the service.

The service, called O2 Satellite, lets ordinary smartphones connect to O2’s network through Starlink’s broadband satellites when normal signal is unavailable.

Business customers on O2’s Plus plans can add the feature for £2.50 a month, excluding VAT, through a rolling 30-day bolt-on. The feature also comes built into O2 Business Ultimate plans by default. The consumer version costs £3 a month including VAT.

The system relies on SpaceX’s Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, using a small slice of the 1800MHz spectrum band to deliver 4G data in areas with no ground coverage.

Once switched on, it raised O2’s UK landmass coverage from 89 percent to 95 percent. Phones connect to satellites automatically once normal signal drops out.

The service currently supports only text messages and limited data for select apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Google Maps. Voice calls and emergency service calls are not yet supported.

O2’s business webpage still marks the feature as coming soon and invites users to register interest, suggesting a full rollout has not yet begun. Starlink’s next generation of satellites, expected in orbit from 2027, aims to offer much faster mobile broadband speeds.