The number of users connecting to the internet via SpaceX's Starlink in Ukraine is projected to reach approximately 12 million by the end of this year, more than doubling from the current 5 million. Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated this projection on Tuesday. Veon, a telecoms group, partnered with Elon Musk's Starlink last year to extend satellite connectivity to mobile users in remote regions. Veon's unit, Kyivstar, has deployed the service in Ukraine.
Terzioglu noted that the service's necessity is amplified by electricity outages, suggesting that many Ukrainians may require satellite connectivity periodically. The 12 million users represent roughly half of Kyivstar's total customer base.
Beyond Ukraine, Veon is also planning to integrate Starlink's service into its Beeline network in Kazakhstan. Terzioglu expressed optimism for the service's full operation by March and potential launches this year in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
Veon is exploring expansion into "large-population, underserved markets" across South Asia, Latin America, and Africa within three to five years, contingent on favorable market conditions regarding pricing and taxation.
While Veon's Starlink partnership is non-exclusive, and discussions are ongoing with Amazon's Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile, and Eutelsat OneWeb, Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov indicated that Kyivstar would exclusively use Starlink until the end of next year due to the operational rollout timelines of other providers.
Furthermore, Komarov announced Kyivstar's plan to deploy its first large language model, utilizing Google's Gemma framework, in the next quarter. This model is slated for use in "Ukrainian state purposes," including wartime applications.