(Credit: Ooma)
As copper landlines disappear, a California company is trying to fill the gap by offering a home phone system that works with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, which is already popular in rural and remote areas in the US.
Ooma supplies internet-connected telephone services, also known as VoIP. On Tuesday, it announced StarDial, a $129.99 bundle that includes a high-definition cordless home handset and a cellular base station for connecting to a home Starlink setup.
The product may seem odd, given that you can already use all kinds of voice, messaging, and VoIP services with Starlink, like any other ISP. Still, Ooma views StarDial as an easy-to-use “home phone option” for US consumers who still want a landline and already use Starlink, which has over 2 million subscribers in the US.
“StarDial gives Starlink users a simple way to add reliable home phone service to their internet connection at a time when traditional phone options are disappearing,” Ooma explains. “Telecommunications providers are retiring aging copper phone networks, while consumers in many rural and remote areas often face limited or unreliable cellular coverage.”
This includes AT&T, which is working to retire most of its copper lines by 2029 and suing to remove them in California as well.
Although many users have smartphones on a cellular carrier, Ooma notes that “Cell phones work well when you have a strong cellular signal, but many homes in rural areas experience dropped calls, weak reception, or dead zones indoors.” Thus, StarDial could act as a peripheral home phone for customers already signed up with Starlink, which uses orbiting satellites to receive broadband.
Ooma says a buyer can set up the product in about 15 minutes; no need for professional installation. “Consumers simply connect StarDial to their Starlink’s Wi-Fi connection and pair the Ooma cordless handset with the StarDial base station." By default, the product can supply “unlimited nationwide calling at no extra charge beyond applicable taxes and fees,” along with address-based 911 service.
Users can also pay an extra $9.99 per month for Ooma Premier, which includes unlimited calling to Canada and Mexico, along with call blocking, voicemail-to-email forwarding, and the ability to make calls over a second line. There’s also an option to port over an existing phone number to the service for a one-time fee of $39.99.
Despite the Starlink connection, Ooma notes: “StarDial is not affiliated with or endorsed by SpaceX or Starlink.” It looks the same as Ooma’s other VoIP home phone systems, such as the Telo Air, which also costs $129.99. We’ve reached out to Ooma for details on how StarDial is different, and we’ll update the story if we hear back.
UPDATE: Ooma told PCMag: "The underlying Ooma technology is the same as Telo Air. What's new with StarDial is that Ooma is specifically offering it as a home phone solution for Starlink users, particularly those in rural, remote and off-grid locations where cellular coverage can be limited and traditional phone options are disappearing."
About Our Expert
I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.
Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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