Vodafone Makes World’s First Space Video Call on a Standard Mobile Phone, Via Newly-Launched AST SpaceMobile Satellites
Vodafone has made the world’s first space video call from an area of no coverage using a standard mobile phone and commercial satellites built to offer a full mobile broadband experience, per Vodafone.
(Berkshire, United Kingdom) The world’s first space-based video call was made today (Jan. 28) by Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD) engineer Rowan Chesner in a remote area of Wales to Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle; the call was powered by Vodafone partner AST SpaceMobile’s (NASDAQ: ASTS) BlueBird satellites, which represent the largest commercial phase arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO), per AST.
Photo of Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle and Astronaut Tim Peake courtesy of Vodafone.
Today’s call marks the world’s first space video call using normal 4G/5G smartphones and satellites that will allow multiple users in areas of no mobile coverage to make and receive video calls, access the Internet and use online messaging services, according to this afternoon’s press release from Vodafone.
Per Vodafone, unlike today’s satellite-based services, “users do not need a special dish, terminal or expensive satellite phone to benefit from full mobile broadband connectivity. The service they will receive mirrors the experience of existing 4G and 5G mobile networks, enabling them to use everyday smartphones to switch between space and ground-based networks automatically.”
Astronaut Tim Peake and Della Valle marked today’s 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 AST Spacemobile. Chesner 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.
“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.”
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.”
Today’s space video call comes 40 years after Vodafone made the UK’s first mobile call, when Michael 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, per Vodafone.
