Britain’s Vodafone says it has completed the first direct-to-smartphone video call via satellite, opening up the way to a fix for patchy cell phone service plaguing the country, particularly in mountainous and remote rural areas. Photo courtesy Vodafone
Vodafone, one of Britain’s big four cell network providers, conducted the country’s first satellite video call using a mobile phone as part of an effort to get around the long-standing problem of “dead zones” where the signal from traditional cell towers is patchy or non-existent.
The company said the space-based call with Android phones from a mountainside in west Wales between its engineers and Group CEO Margherita Della Valle on Wednesday was the first step in rolling out direct-to-smartphone satellite service nationwide by the end of 2025, and across Europe next year. Advertisement
Della Valle said the technology, previously only available for SOS Emergency texts on late-model iPhones, could eliminate “not spots” found across the 9%, or around 8,500 square miles, of Britain’s land area that telecom regulator Ofcom says is affected.
“It’s a really important moment because we are opening the door to universal connectivity, to connecting people in the U.K., wherever they are,” she said.
However, she stressed the system would complement existing terrestrial communications infrastructure, not replace it.
Vodafone said it was too early to provide any promises on mobile data speeds routed via the U.S.-built AST SpaceMobile satellite array, which works by precisely directing radio signals from satellites to their intended destination, but that it would be faster than other services using Low-Earth-Orbit satellites. Advertisement
One of the issues affecting speeds is that, like existing satellite phones, a good connection is dependent on an unobstructed line of sight to the satellite, as well as environmental factors.
Max Taylor, chief executive of Vodafone U.K., hailed the breakthrough 40 years after Vodafone made the country’s first mobile call on Jan. 1, 1985.
“We’re proud to continue our legacy as the Nation’s Network by bringing connectivity to all parts of the U.K.,” he said.
“The use of satellites in conjunction with our land-based network will ensure customers have the coverage they deserve. We’re excited to have successfully tested the technology and look forward to making it more widely available in the U.K.”
However, the new service must first obtain U.K. regulatory approval and more satellites will need to be in orbit for it to work widely.
Vodafone is in the midst of a $19 billion merger with Three to form a company that will serve around a third of the country’s 83 million cell phone subscribers after the Competition and Markets Authority approved the deal in December after 18 months of negotiations.
Three is owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings.
Under the deal, expected to complete in the first half of 2025, Vodafone will own 51% of the new company with an option to purchase Hutchison’s 49% stake in three years’ time. Advertisement
Vodafone and Three have pledged to invest $13.7 billion to build one of the most advanced 5G networks in Europe to meet the ever-growing demands of customers for greater reliability, speed and bandwidth fueled by the uptake of new technologies, including AI.
