UK gets near-ubiquitous £3 IoT option, O2 nixes its use
Direct-to-cell data with Starlink via O2 promises lightweight connectivity everywhere, instantly and pretty fairly cheap, but...
Virgin Media O2 on Thursday turned on its direct-to-cell (D2C) satellite service, the day after regulation that made it possible kicked in.
Unlike other early D2C adopters in Europe, O2's integration of the Starlink service explicitly makes provision for data, with WhatsApp among the whitelisted applications at launch. That should make it possible to set up a lightweight connection – suitable for IoT, for instance – from most of the UK without worrying about signal coverage, instantly, for the cost of a monthly SIM plus a £3 bolt-on fee.
But only if O2 doesn't catch you at it.