Vodafone makes world’s first 5G space call

Vodafone has successfully made 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. 

It is the only satellite technology of its kind built to offer a full mobile broadband experience and paves the way for universal digital connectivity and the closure of mobile coverage gaps. 

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 Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, marked this significant 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 Vodafone’s partner, AST SpaceMobile. 

Vodafone Engineer Rowan Chesmer put it to the test when he 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. 

Chesmer, who joined Vodafone’s graduate scheme in 2017, is now developing cutting-edge satellite technologies that will improve global connectivity.

Margherita Della Valle said: “Vodafone’s job is to get everyone connected, no matter where they are. 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.” 

Tim Peake, who in 2015 became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and conduct a spacewalk, added: “Having spent six months on the International Space Station, I can fully appreciate the value in being able to communicate with family and friends from remote and isolated locations. I am delighted to join Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile in this significant breakthrough.”

Operating from low-Earth orbit, it is the only satellite service in the world today that offers mobile broadband directly to multiple 4G or 5G smartphones by working seamlessly as an
extension of Vodafone’s leading land-based networks. 

Satellite is a complementary, bolt-on technology providing valuable coverage where no feasible mobile or fixed alternative exists at present. 

Together, the satellite service and terrestrial network will give Europe a communications infrastructure for use in any location, including mountains, or out at sea, at any time, as well as boosting overall resilience. 

Today’s call is a landmark achievement for Europe in this exciting next technology frontier. It comes 40 years after Vodafone made the UK’s very first mobile phone call, 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.