Breaking Boundaries - Investing In Innovation And A Space-Based Network

This venture could enhance our existing networks in Europe and Africa, and could help our customers stay connected.

SpaceMobile, is a low-Earth-orbit (LEO), low-latency satellite network and will enable seamless roaming to and from terrestrial cellular networks at comparable data rates without any need for specialised satellite hardware. It will help eliminate the coverage gaps, and will also help the world’s most under-served communities to access mobile services much sooner than predicted, helping more people globally access the digital economy.

There is so much potential for digital inclusion in remote places where the cost of building networks or difficult building and engineering conditions is prohibitive, but there’s a way to go before we launch satellites into space and see the benefits for customers. Nonetheless the potential is super exciting and our engineers will continue to work with AST & Science, so that we can bring this technology to our commercial operations in the next few years.

Nick Read, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, said, “At Vodafone we want to ensure everyone benefits from a digital society – that no-one is left behind. We believe SpaceMobile is uniquely placed to provide universal mobile coverage, further enhancing our leading network across Europe and Africa - especially in rural areas and during a natural or humanitarian disaster - for customers on their existing smartphones.”

To learn more, please watch the enclosed video in which Johan Wibergh, Vodafone Group Chief Technology Officer, officially introduces the partnership and shares his thoughts.