Entel Starlink Enables 2.5 Million in Peru

CHILE · TELECOM

Entel Starlink service in Peru now has 2,509,380 customers enabled to use it, the Chilean telecom group told Diario Financiero in figures published on Tuesday 20 October 2026. That is 82% of the 3,046,385 customers enabled in Chile, where the satellite-to-phone service started first.

For US readers the story is about American technology reaching ordinary handsets, because Starlink belongs to SpaceX and works with standard phones that need no extra dish or antenna. It also touches anyone who works or travels in remote parts of Chile and Peru, where Entel says the link fills gaps that ground towers do not cover.

Entel is a publicly traded telecom group with about 10.2 million mobile customers in Chile and about 10 million in Peru, according to the same report. Our Entel company profile and our earlier report on Entel’s second-quarter results cover the business behind the numbers.

Entel Starlink Reaches 2.5 Million Customers in Peru

The 2,509,380 figure counts customers enabled to use the service, and the report gives no count of how many in Peru have actually sent a message through it. Diario Financiero attributes the numbers to figures supplied by the company.

Alexis Licci, Entel’s general manager in Peru, said the alliance with Starlink “allows us to reach where others do not reach”, in the newspaper’s Spanish quote translated here. He added that more than 2.5 million enabled customers mark a concrete step on that path.

Peru is where Entel Starlink is newest. Entel’s own Peru website describes the service as outdoors-only, with a clear line of sight to the sky, and says it reaches up to 200 nautical miles off the coast.

How Peru Closes In on Chile

The gap in Entel Starlink customers between the two countries is now 537,005 enabled customers, our own subtraction of the two reported counts. Peru reached 82% of the Chilean level in under a year, while the two mobile customer bases are nearly the same size.

Chile launched the service in November 2025, and in Peru the Ministry of Transport and Communications held the first official demonstration on Tuesday 2 December 2025, according to Mobile Time. The Peruvian service runs inside a regulatory test space that the ministry authorised for 24 months.

Entel told the trade press in early July that more than one million Chilean customers had the service enabled, and that more than 170,000 had used it, as Mobile Time reported. The 3,046,385 figure for Chile three and a half months later is roughly triple that “more than one million”, and the sources do not say what changed.

What the Satellite Link Does

The first phase of Entel Starlink in Peru allowed text messages only. In a report dated Monday 1 June 2026, Mobile Time said Entel had announced a second phase that adds apps such as WhatsApp, Google Maps, AccuWeather and X, making Peru the second Latin American country with that phase after Chile.

Diario Financiero says WhatsApp accounts for 43.7% of all satellite use across Chile and Peru, and the average line used 29.7 MB between May and August. On land in Peru, Arequipa carries 9.7% of the traffic, Lima 7.2% and the Áncash region 8.5%.

At sea, activity centres on the coasts of Moquegua, Tacna and Arequipa, where Entel points to artisanal and industrial fishing and shipping routes. The company calls the link vital for safety in those waters.

Text messages sent by satellite in Peru rose from 3,073 a month in April to 21,573 in August, a sevenfold increase. That is still small next to 2.5 million enabled customers, which suggests most of the base is potential use rather than daily use.

Storms Show the Service at Work

Chile offers a test of how Entel Starlink behaves in an emergency. When a storm system hit the country from 16 July, Entel opened free satellite texting to customers between the Atacama and Los Lagos regions, and said satellite text use rose 520% in the first two weeks, Mobile Time reported.

The peak came on 20 July, when customers sent 18,200 texts by satellite, and the Coquimbo region made up 68% of satellite traffic on the busiest day. Entel called it the first use of direct-to-phone satellite connectivity during an emergency in Chile.

What It Means for You

For travelers, the practical point of Entel Starlink is that coverage does not end where the towers end, for people who are on an Entel line. In Chile, Mobile Time’s July report lists a compatible phone, an updated operating system and roaming and VoLTE switched on as conditions, and the signal works only with a clear view of the sky.

Our guides to Chile’s natural resources and how power works in Chile explain why so much of the country is empty desert, mountain or coast, and our Santiago city guide covers daily life in the capital. Readers who follow satellite connectivity can also see how Venezuela licensed Starlink after its earthquake.

Investors who follow Entel should note that the reports give no revenue figure for the satellite service, so its effect on earnings is not known. The Entel Starlink customer counts show adoption of a feature, not a new income line.

What Is Not Known

Diario Financiero and Entel do not define “enabled” beyond saying the customer can use the service, and they give no figure for active users in Peru. They also do not explain how Chile’s enabled base moved from more than one million in July to 3,046,385 in October.

It is not known whether foreign visitors on a roaming SIM can use the satellite link in Chile or Peru, because the sources reviewed describe only Entel customers. Entel’s own press release for the 20 October figures could not be opened, so the numbers rest on the company’s figures as published by Diario Financiero.

No source states what Entel earns from the service or how it shares revenue with SpaceX. The Peruvian service is also still part of an experimental regulatory framework, and what happens when that period ends is not stated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Entel customers in Peru can use Starlink?

Entel says 2,509,380 customers in Peru are enabled to use the service, according to figures published by Diario Financiero on 20 October 2026. That is 82% of the 3,046,385 enabled in Chile.

What does Entel Starlink do on a phone?

It lets a compatible phone send texts and use apps such as WhatsApp and Google Maps outdoors where there is no mobile signal. It needs a clear view of the sky and works through Starlink satellites rather than ground towers.

When did the service start in Peru and Chile?

Entel launched it in Chile in November 2025 and in Peru in early December 2025, after an official demonstration on 2 December. Mobile Time reported on 1 June 2026 that a second phase with apps had been announced for Peru.

How much is the service used?

In Peru, satellite texts rose from 3,073 in April to 21,573 in August, according to Entel’s own figures. In Chile, Entel said in July that more than 170,000 customers had used it.

Can US visitors use it?

The sources reviewed describe the service only for Entel customers, and none says whether foreign roaming SIMs can use it. Travelers should ask their own carrier or Entel before relying on it.

Sources: Diario Financiero, 20 October 2026; Mobile Time Latinoamerica, 6 July 2026; Mobile Time Latinoamerica, 13 August 2026; Mobile Time Latinoamerica, 3 December 2025; Mobile Time Latinoamerica, 1 June 2026; Entel Peru, Starlink service page.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error

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