
Vodafone makes first space video call to solve no coverage problem
Using normal 4G/5G smartphones and satellites, Vodafone has successfully made the first space video call. The technology will allow multiple users in areas of no mobile or limited coverage to make and receive video calls, access the Internet and use online messaging services.
Unlike current satellite-based services, users do not need a special dish, terminal or expensive satellite phone to benefit from full mobile broadband connectivity — enabling the use everyday smartphones that switch seamlessly between space and ground-based networks automatically.
This direct-to-mobile broadband satellite technology is a fully integrated extension of Vodafone’s existing land-based fibre and mobile networks, providing reliable digital connectivity in rural coverage not spots that also includes wide areas of surrounding sea.
Following further tests this Spring, Vodafone expects to progressively introduce the direct-to-smartphone broadband satellite service commercially in markets across Europe later this year and during 2026 to close the last remaining coverage gaps.
The direct-to-mobile satellite technology is enabled by Vodafone partner AST SpaceMobile which operates five satellites, called Bluebird 1 – 5, that will allow Vodafone to provide mobile broadband connectivity directly to existing smartphones at peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps. AST SpaceMobile operates the first and only mobile broadband network in space that works directly with standard, unmodified smartphones for multiple users, going beyond other low Earth orbit satellite constellations which have so far only facilitated text messaging.
Vodafone became a lead investor in AST SpaceMobile in 2019 and pioneered successful trials using its test satellite, including completing the world’s first space-based 5G voice call.
Astronaut Tim Peake and Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, marked this significant milestone at Vodafone’s new space-to-land gateway, which receives and channels all the signals sent from a user’s smartphone via the BlueBird satellites of Vodafone’s partner, AST SpaceMobile. Vodafone engineer Rowan Chesmer put it to the test when he made the historic space-based video call to Margherita from a remote mountainous location in mid-Wales — where there has never been mobile broadband before. Rowan, who joined Vodafone’s graduate scheme in 2017, is now developing cutting-edge satellite technologies that will improve global connectivity.
Margherita Della Valle said: “Vodafone’s job is to get everyone connected, no matter where they are. Our advanced European 5G network will now be complemented with cutting-edge satellite technology. We are bringing customers the best network and connecting people who have never had access to mobile communications before. This will help to close the digital divide, supporting people from all corners of Europe to keep in touch with family and friends, or work, as well as ensuring reliable rural connectivity in an emergency.”
Tim Peake, who in 2015 became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and conduct a spacewalk, added: “Having spent six months on the International Space Station, I can fully appreciate the value in being able to communicate with family and friends from remote and isolated locations.”
Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said: “This historic milestone marks another significant step forward in our partnership with Vodafone, a long-time investor in AST SpaceMobile and a key technology partner. Together, we have achieved several world firsts in space-based broadband connectivity, including the first-ever space-based voice call, the first-ever 4G download speed above 10 Mbps, and the first-ever 5G voice call. This latest achievement using our BlueBird satellites, takes us one step closer to our mission to eliminate connectivity gaps and make cellular broadband accessible to all.”
Operating from low Earth orbit, it is the only satellite service in the world today that offers mobile broadband directly to multiple 4G or 5G smartphones by working seamlessly as an extension of Vodafone’s leading land-based networks. Satellite is a complementary, bolt-on technology providing valuable coverage where no feasible mobile or fixed alternative exists at present. Together, the satellite service and terrestrial network will give Europe a communications infrastructure for use in any location, including mountains, or out at sea, at any time, as well as boosting overall resilience.
This is a landmark achievement for Europe and comes 40 years after Vodafone made the UK’s very first mobile phone call, when Michael Harrison called his father — Sir Ernest Harrison, Vodafone’s founder and first chairman — just after midnight on 1 January 1985 from Parliament Square, London.
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