The Luxembourg based startup has a telco partner and a live demo planned for Germany in 2026 using 2.6 GHz airwaves — but its dedicated S band satellite won't launch until H1 2027, while SpaceX's competing service is already filing for partnerships.
OQ Technology is betting that the same 2.6 GHz spectrum that powers your smartphone on the ground can also connect it directly to one of its satellites — and it's planning a live demo in Germany next year to prove it. But the full system doesn't exist yet, a dedicated S-band satellite isn't launching until H1 2027, and the competitive threat from SpaceX's vertically integrated Starlink Mobile isn't waiting.
The Luxembourg-based startup announced a partnership with Telefonica Germany to demonstrate direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity using existing 2.6 GHz cellular spectrum — the same mid-band airwaves already deployed across Germany's mobile networks. The approach sidesteps the need for dedicated D2D spectrum, a path no major U.S. player is currently pursuing.
CEO Omar Qaise said the company is leveraging 2.6 GHz for the demonstration because it is available, licensed, and OQ has access to it — a position he outlined in the SpaceNews interview. "The idea is to prove that the same spectrum can be reused in space for direct-to-device services."
The main demo is scheduled for next year in Germany, specifically in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, using equipment that OQ Technology says can already link standard smartphones to LEO satellites. Initial C-band testing is planned for later this year. The satellite OQ intends to use for the live demo — a small spacecraft slated for launch in the first half of 2027 — is still on the ground. The company says the demo will preview the intended commercial experience before the dedicated hardware is in orbit.
OQ Technology's spectrum-reuse approach sets it apart from the two dominant D2D strategies taking shape globally. SpaceX is building a vertically integrated system, owning both the satellite constellation and the user hardware, with Starlink Mobile having partnered with Deutsche Telekom for services in 10 European countries. AST SpaceMobile has a Luxembourg-based joint venture with British telecoms giant Vodafone to use the spectrum for a European satellite broadband service.
OQ Technology's bet is fundamentally different: instead of acquiring or building dedicated D2D spectrum, it intends to reuse spectrum already allocated to terrestrial mobile networks — taking what is effectively interference at ground level and converting it into a coverage signal from orbit. "The concept is to reuse spectrum that is already licensed on the ground and propagate it to the sky," Qaise told SpaceNews. "The regulatory framework in Europe is developing to support that."
That regulatory backdrop includes a European Commission proposal to allocate S-band spectrum for D2D services, which could sharpen the licensing clarity OQ needs. The Luxembourg government has also backed the company through a Sentinel defense award, an indicator of the government's interest in satellite infrastructure with dual-use potential.
The European Investment Bank has extended loan financing to OQ, providing capital the company will need to bridge the gap between demo and deployed constellation. None of these endorsements, however, change the underlying timeline risk: the satellite that makes the commercial service real is still on the ground.
The live demo in Germany is real and scheduled for next year — but it is not a proof of the final product. It is a proof of concept for a technical thesis: that 2.6 GHz spectrum can carry a usable D2D signal from orbit to a standard smartphone. The satellite OQ plans to use for the demo is slated for launch in H1 2027; the full commercial service depends on hardware still being built and not yet in orbit.
That distinction matters for assessing the competitive threat. SpaceX's Starlink Mobile partnership with Deutsche Telekom covers 10 European countries, suggesting the company is moving toward commercial D2D service faster than OQ can bring its dedicated satellite online. AST SpaceMobile's joint venture with Vodafone is already operational in Europe. OQ's telco partnership — the first major carrier-level validation of its approach — is a genuine signal of market traction, but it lands in a context where the commercial timeline is already compressed.
The Telefonica Germany partnership is a data point in OQ Technology's favor: a named European telco is willing to be publicly associated with a D2D demo on OQ's terms. That is not nothing. Whether it translates into a deployed service depends on a satellite that won't fly for at least another year, navigating a regulatory environment that is still taking shape, while competing against a vertically integrated rival that is already moving.
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OQ Technology is a Luxembourg-based satellite operator. Its partnership with Telefonica Germany is set for a live D2D demo in Germany in 2026 using 2.6 GHz cellular spectrum. The company's dedicated S-band D2D satellite is planned for launch in H1 2027.