To display this space communication service, Vodafone will use five bluebird satellites of the American company Ast Spacemobile in low terrestrial orbit, which offer transmission speeds of up to 120 megabits per second for standard smartphones.
The British operator has announced that by the end of 2025 the satellite video calls for all its customers in Europe, after successful passing tests carried out from the mountains of Wales, in an area without coverage, in an area without coverage, in an area without coverage mobile.
In the test last Monday, the Vodafone CEO, Margherita Della Valle, received a video call from the engineer Rowan Chesmer, who used satellite technology to be able to communicate from the remote area of the Welsh mountains. In a video posted on its YouTube channel, Della Valle speaks of a “historical moment”, accompanied by Tim Peake, the first English astronaut to visit the International Space Station.
“We were using the only satellite service that can offer a complete mobile experience with a normal device, so you get everything, from voice to text and transmission of video data, so we made a complete video call,” said the directive in an interview in an interview recent. Part of the importance of the news is that this technology can be used by normal 4G or 5G phones, so it may be massive.
Thus, the service that customers will receive reflects the experience of the existing 4G and 5G mobile networks, allowing to use daily smartphones to automatically change between space and terrestrial networks. “Our advanced 5G network will now be complemented with avant -garde satellite technology,” says the CEO in a press release.
Vodafone used a gateway between space and land at its headquarters in Newbury, west London, to receive the satellite signal and then connect it to its central network.
From the operator they ensure that its objective is to offer the first direct commercial band satellite service to smartphones in Europe in the late 2025 and 2026.
Competition to Starlink
With this technology, from Vodafone they seek to be able to make the competition to Starlink, the satellite company of Elon Musk, which also seeks to offer mobile connectivity to anyone. Other companies such as Apple, Google or Samsung continue to work on satellite communication, although at the moment this route is limited to the sending of emergency signals, sending text messages or to share the location, without having been able to gather audio and video to provide of video calls.
«We offer our customers the best network and connect people who had never had access to mobile communications before. This will help close the digital gap, helping people from all corners of Europe to stay in contact with their family and friends or work, in addition to guaranteeing reliable rural connectivity in case of emergency, ”said the CEO of the group of telecommunications.
The United Kingdom Telecommunications Minister Chris Bryant has also praised Vodafone, celebrating his progress when connecting people in remote regions.
