Brazil’s Telecoms Regulator Extends Vivo’s Satellite-to-Phone Trial to April 2029

Brazil · Technology

Brazil’s telecoms regulator has given Vivo until 2029 to test phones that talk to satellites. The licence is Vivo’s, and it runs on Vivo’s own frequencies.

Anatel Vivo satellite testing in Brazil will now run until 22 April 2029. The telecoms regulator published the extension in the official gazette on 16 September 2026.

Anatel is Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency. It issued the decision as Ato 11.334, extending an authorisation that was due to expire on 22 October 2026.

What the regulator actually decided

The licence extended belongs to Telefônica Brasil, the operator that trades under the Vivo brand. No satellite operator is named in the act.

The authorisation is experimental. It is classified as a Serviço Limitado Privado, or private limited service, and was decided by Anatel’s board.

A regulatory sandbox is permission to run a real service under temporary rules while permanent ones are written. It lets a regulator watch a technology work before deciding how to govern it.

An earlier act, number 10.902 of 24 August 2026, set the shape of this one. It expressly allowed commercial applications inside the sandbox before the permanent rules are finished.

Anatel’s board described the arrangement as a regulatory bridge for commercial exploration of the technology. The authorisation can end early if the definitive rules are completed first.

The August act let users keep their existing mobile numbers and allowed interconnection between the private and public networks. It also removed the numerical cap on test devices.

The original authorisation ran from 19 July to 22 October 2026 and was capped at 50 mobile terminals. Vivo was the only participant in the experimental environment.

Anatel Vivo satellite tests use terrestrial frequencies

The frequencies named in the act are 2,567.5 megahertz and 2,687.5 megahertz. Each carries five megahertz of bandwidth, at a maximum transmit power of 100 watts.

Convergência Digital notes that these are Vivo’s existing 4G frequencies, not S-band satellite frequencies. That detail is the legal hinge of the whole arrangement.

The sandbox is open only to mobile operators that already hold spectrum authorisations. Its reach is bounded by the operator’s own coverage.

The sandbox is open only to mobile operators that already hold spectrum authorisations. Its reach is bounded by the operator’s own spectrum coverage, according to the August act.

Anatel set the coverage area of the extended authorisation as the entire national territory, Convergência Digital reported. Tests may be run with any operator, provided the regulator is notified.

Operation is on a secondary basis. That means no protection against harmful interference, and transmissions must stop at once if they disrupt other authorised systems.

The operator must supply Anatel with reports and documentation on applications, interference risks and results. No fee schedule and no service launch date are published.

What direct-to-cell does, and does not do

Direct-to-cell lets an ordinary compatible smartphone connect to a satellite in low earth orbit. No dish and no external antenna are needed.

In the United States the service carries text messaging, available since 23 July 2025, and basic data added in October 2025. Around 60 handset models are compatible.

It does not carry voice calls, video streaming or sustained broadband, according to the technical site KeepTrack. Indoor reception does not work, because the handset needs a clear view of the sky.

Throughput is hundreds of kilobits per second at best, enough for basic browsing and email. Canaltech, writing in July 2026, described the technology as supporting messages, calls and internet access.

The capability set for any Brazilian service has not been announced. More than 650 direct-to-cell satellites were operational at the time of KeepTrack’s July 2026 update.

The American service runs on T-Mobile’s 1900 megahertz spectrum, on the same principle as the Brazilian trial. Each satellite carries a phased-array antenna of 25 square metres dedicated to cellular traffic.

American pricing is the only public benchmark. The service costs about US$10 a month as an add-on for non-premium customers, and is included in premium plans.

Where Vivo and Starlink actually stand

As of 22 July 2026, Vivo was negotiating with SpaceX and no commercial agreement had been finalised. No commercial launch date had been announced.

Telesíntese reports that SpaceX’s identity was kept confidential in filings connected to the American regulator. The Anatel Vivo satellite act names only Telefônica Brasil.

TIM and Claro, Vivo’s two main rivals, are also exploring satellite offerings. Their prospective partners include SpaceX and other low-orbit operators.

What a subscriber can expect

For a subscriber, the Anatel Vivo satellite decision changes nothing this year. There is no consumer product, no price and no signed contract to point to.

What the extension buys is time and legal room. Vivo can now test, and commercially exploit, satellite-to-phone service until April 2029.

If a service does arrive, expect something modest. A text message from a valley with no mast, rather than video streaming deep in the Amazon.

Nothing published so far promises voice calls to Brazilian customers. The regulator has given Vivo the room to try, and the commercial decision sits with Vivo and its partner.

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What is Anatel?

Anatel is Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency, the federal regulator for telephone, mobile, satellite and broadcasting services. It grants spectrum licences, sets technical conditions and decides what operators may sell. Decisions of this kind are taken by its board, the Conselho Diretor, and published in the official gazette. In this case it issued Ato 11.334, dated 16 September 2026.

What is a regulatory sandbox?

A regulatory sandbox is a temporary permission to run a new kind of service before permanent rules exist for it. The regulator sets conditions, watches what happens and keeps the right to withdraw the licence. Brazil’s version here is an experimental authorisation classified as a private limited service. An act of 24 August 2026 went further than most sandboxes and allowed commercial use inside it, which is unusual.

Can I use Starlink on my phone in Brazil now?

No. Vivo holds a testing authorisation, not a consumer product, and as of 22 July 2026 it was still negotiating with SpaceX with no agreement finalised. No launch date and no price for Brazilian customers have been published. Even where the technology is commercially live, in the United States, it carries text messages and slow data rather than calls or video.

Why does it matter whose spectrum is used?

Spectrum is licensed by country, and using it without a grant is illegal. Because the satellites in this trial transmit on Vivo’s own 4G frequencies, the arrangement sits inside a licence Vivo already holds. That is why the authorisation names Telefônica Brasil rather than any satellite company, and why Anatel limited the sandbox to operators that already hold spectrum. It also means the service can only exist where the operator has rights to use those bands.

Sources: Telesíntese on the extension to 2029, Convergência Digital on the terrestrial frequencies involved, Tecnoblog on the sandbox conditions, Capital Digital on the August act allowing commercial use, Canaltech on the state of the SpaceX negotiations, KeepTrack on what direct-to-cell can and cannot carry

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