Starlink Mobile: Hungary and Albania first with 4iG

Starlink said Starlink Mobile is expanding in Europe with 4iG Group. In Starlink's Wednesday post, the company wrote that the service will first launch in Hungary and Albania with apps and messaging, "connecting more people in remote areas." The same post said next-gen V2 will then expand to Montenegro and North Macedonia, "delivering high-speed broadband directly to mobile phones on our harmonized spectrum used worldwide."

4iG Group posted a matching press release dated 2 September 2026. It says Gellért Jászai, 4iG chairman and CEO, and Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and COO, signed the agreements in Texas. 4iG writes that it is targeted to launch first-generation Starlink Mobile commercial service, later followed by Starlink Mobile V2 using SpaceX global 2 GHz spectrum rights for 5G non-terrestrial network capabilities.

The 4iG note puts Hungary and Albania on the first commercial window, then names Hungary, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia for V2. Starlink's X post names Montenegro and North Macedonia only on the V2 line. 4iG also says the rollout schedule will depend on regulatory, technical, and commercial conditions in each market. Neither primary gave a calendar day for consumer start.

4iG says the service is intended to complement the group's mobile networks in Hungary and the Western Balkans, on LTE-compatible phones without dedicated satellite equipment. That is the partner's wording for ordinary handsets, not a published handset list.

On the Starlink Mobile product page, SpaceX describes current service as data, voice via apps, and messaging on existing LTE phones, with native calling listed as future. The same page describes V2 as next-generation satellites meant to deliver broadband directly to phones, with about 20x the throughput of a first-generation satellite. That 20x figure is the product-page design target, not a measurement from the 4iG signing. The public partner list on that page still does not name 4iG.

Shotwell, quoted in the 4iG release, called Hungary an early adopter of Sovereign Solutions for Europe. 4iG separately describes Sovereign Solutions as a secure satellite communications service scheduled to launch next year. That package is in the partner release, not in the Starlink X post.

The open product question is how much of the first Hungary and Albania window is apps-and-messaging overlay versus later V2 broadband, and when 4iG actually turns the overlay on for customers.

Confirmed

• Starlink's Wednesday post: expanding in Europe with 4iG; first launch Hungary and Albania with apps and messaging; V2 then Montenegro and North Macedonia for direct-to-phone broadband on harmonized spectrum
• 4iG 2 Sept 2026 press release: Texas signing by Jászai and Shotwell; first-gen commercial target; V2 2 GHz / 5G NTN; Hungary and Albania first, V2 also Montenegro and North Macedonia; rollout depends on local conditions
• Starlink Mobile product page: current apps/messaging path; V2 about 20x first-gen throughput as a design target

Not confirmed

• Consumer start date in Hungary or Albania
• Whether first-gen includes native voice or only apps and messaging
• Retail price, eligible plans, or handset list
• 4iG appearing on the public Starlink Mobile partner roster
• Sovereign Solutions scope, customers, or a firm in-service year beyond 4iG's "next year" line

What to watch: 4iG or Starlink naming a commercial start in Hungary or Albania; V2 spectrum or regulator notes for Montenegro and North Macedonia; whether Starlink updates the public operator partner list.