Vodafone claims video call over satellite landmark

In an what it called an historic first, comms provider Vodafone Group has revealed that it completed what “the first-ever space-based video call” using 4G/5G smartphones, over a satellite built to offer a full mobile broadband experience from an area with no terrestrial mobile coverage.

A low Earth orbit (LEO) Bluebird satellite operated by AST SpaceMobile, a Vodafone partner, was used for the video call. Vodafone has been a three-time investor in AST SpaceMobile since 2018 and is regarded by the Texas-based space company as a key technology partner in its development, including several world firsts in direct-to-device connectivity with everyday smartphones that confirmed 2G, 4G and 5G capabilities.

In April 2023, AST SpaceMobile and its partners completed the “first-ever space-based voice call to an unmodified phone”, followed by another landmark with the “first-ever 4G download speed above 10 Mbps” in June 2023 and the “first-ever 5G voice call” in September 2023. Ultimately, the company and its partners have demonstrated over 20 mbps download speeds to unmodified phones on a 5 Mhz channel.

In December 2024, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile entered into a definitive long-term commercial agreement through 2034, with the first move being the telco placing an order for its first Block 1 BlueBird gateway, marking “a milestone” in the deployment of its global network infrastructure.

This means users outside traditional cellular coverage can connect everyday smartphones directly to AST SpaceMobile’s satellites in low Earth orbit, which in turn will route the data to the gateway. These gateways connect to Vodafone’s existing network infrastructure to route the broadband data to users’ devices, as well as to access third-party apps and the internet.

In the Vodafone video call over satellite, Vodafone engineers in a part of rural Wales that is a total not-spot, a place where there are no masts to provide mobile signal, conducted a WhatsApp video call with Group CEO Margherita Della Valle using standard off-the-shelf Android smartphones connected by satellite – a feat that has never been done before, according to the telco.

In the test, the engineers’ smartphones were connected directly to a satellite which then transmitted data to and from a relay station on the ground. That relay station was connected to the rest of Vodafone’s network, including a standard mast, which is what Della Valle’s smartphone was connected to.

While recognising that the feat was a test, Vodafone stressed that its “success” potentially paves the way for the elimination of mobile coverage “not-spots” in the future, as well as communication through standard smartphones and not dedicated satellite devices.

Vodafone said that it was too soon to know exactly when direct-to-phone satellite services from the company will be available to the public, but it did reveal that it was planning for more developments should in 2025 and 2026, once Vodafone has completed further tests.

Vodafone added that the advantage of Vodafone working with AST SpaceMobile’s satellites was that more bandwidth was available so that other apps and services could be used. It noted that, at the time of writing, other direct-to-phone satellite services only have enough bandwidth for voice calls and text messages.