au Expands Coverage to Cover All of Japan with au Starlink Direct, a Direct to Cell Satellite Service

KDDI Corporation
Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company

Tokyo, April 10, 2025―KDDI and Okinawa Cellular will start providing au Starlink Direct, a direct to cell service between satellites and au smartphones, on April 10, 2025. This is the first Direct to Cell satellite service in Japan [1] .
The service is compatible with 50 smartphone models and is available free of charge to au users from today for the time being without the need to apply.

The au Starlink Direct service allows au smartphones to directly connect to the Starlink satellite that supports direct telecommunications, enabling connectivity wherever there is a sight of sky, even outside the coverage area. In addition to text messaging with friends, users can receive emergency earthquake alerts and share current location with families, providing peace of mind in emergencies. Furthermore, Android users can simply send text questions to get support for searches and other tasks from Google's AI assistant, Gemini.

Although au's population coverage is more than 99.9%, its area coverage rate is approximately 60% due to Japan's unique topography [2]. au Starlink Direct, which covers all of Japan, enables connectivity in the remaining 40%. The service can be used to communicate with family members and friends, in emergencies, etc., even in mountainous areas, island areas, and campgrounds and at sea where it is difficult to provide a telecommunications environment.

KDDI is expanding the au coverage area to all of Japan to bring the experience of "Connecting the Unconnected. wherever you see the sky."

Commenting on the launch of au Starlink Direct, Gwynne Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX, said:
"I'm very excited to bring direct-to-cell phone connectivity to Japan through KDDI, the first in Asia and one of the first in the world. Both Starlink and direct-to-cell are game-changing technologies, making connecting the unconnected simple and bringing potentially life-saving capability to the people of Japan for disaster and other emergency responses."

■Overview of au Starlink Direct

1. Available services

• Sending/receiving text messages (SMS/RCS/iMessage) [3]
• Sharing current location information*
• Consulting Gemini on Android smartphones*
• Receiving earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings, and J-Alert.

• *Via text message app

2. Eligible Users

Customers who are using au (individuals/companies)

3. Supported Areas

All of Japan (47 prefectures and territorial waters)

• *Areas where the sky can be seen, excluding au 5G/4G coverage areas

4. Eligible Smartphones

Android smartphones and iPhone models that support satellite mode (50 models as of April 2025)

When connected via au Starlink Direct, a satellite icon or text is displayed at the top right of the device screen as the antenna pictogram.

5. Fee

Free for the time being (No need to apply)

• *Any fee changes will be notified in advance.

For details of the service including how to use it and the list of supported smartphone models, visit the au Starlink Direct service website.

• For individual customers (in Japanese only)
• For corporate customers (in Japanese only)

(Reference)

■Efforts to expand au coverage areas

KDDI is actively expanding the coverage areas along everyday routes, such as railway lines and business districts to connect customers' daily lives. In addition, to connect customers' non-daily activities, KDDI is taking measures for telecommunications utilizing vehicle-mounted base stations and Starlink for mountainous areas and outdoor events where it is difficult to install fiber-optic communication. Furthermore, to expand the au coverage area to all of Japan, KDDI is starting to provide direct telecommunications service between satellites and smartphones. The service will bring the experiences of "being connected in daily life," "being connected in non-daily activities," and "being connected wherever you can see the sky."