Jack Loughran Thu 30 Jan 2025
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2025/01/30/vodafone-makes-first-space-based-5g-video-call-using-regular-smartphone
Mobile network Vodafone says it has made the world’s first space-based video call using a normal 5G-equipped smartphone and coverage from commercial satellites.
The firm said its service is the only satellite technology to offer a full mobile broadband experience in areas of no mobile coverage. The technology can allow multiple users in these areas to make and receive video calls, access the internet and use online messaging services, and could help to close gaps in mobile coverage.
The service is provided by Texas-based start-up AST SpaceMobile, in which Vodafone became a lead investor in 2019. It has been slowly building up its space-based cellular broadband network since September 2023 , when it demonstrated the technology on a 5G voice and data connection.
The firm is similar to Elon Musk’s Starlink, which operates a constellation of over 3,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit to provide broadband data to devices on the ground. That firm also plans to launch a direct-to-smartphone service later this year.
Vodafone engineer Rowan Chesmer put the service to the test when he placed a space-based video call to Vodafone Group’s chief executive Margherita Della Valle from a remote mountainous location in mid-Wales that lacks any form of ground-based broadband service.
“Vodafone’s job is to get everyone connected, no matter where they are,” Della Valle said. “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.”
Telecoms minister Chris Bryant said: “Since coming into office, I have put digital growth and inclusion at the top of my political agenda, harnessing the power of tech innovation to connect the most hard-to-reach parts of Britain. I am thrilled to see Vodafone leveraging satellite connectivity and 5G to help us plug coverage gaps and improve lives across the country.”
Following further tests this spring, Vodafone aims 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.
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