Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer & Network Director at Vodafone UK, explains the significance of Vodafone's historic first space mobile video call.
If you’re reading this article on a smartphone, then it’s likely your internet connection involves a mast. A key component in any mobile network, masts ensure we can currently provide over 99% of the UK’s population with our 4G signal.
The tricky part is reaching that final 1%, many of whom live in the countryside.
Building masts in rural locations – to provide our customers with the coverage they expect – comes with challenges that most people are completely unaware of.
An average steel mast takes around 12-18 months to build – from identifying a potential site to going live. There are many reasons for this. A mast needs power, most likely from a dedicated connection to the National Grid.
It also needs backhaul to connect it to other masts and then our core network. Both of those requirements potentially mean cables crossing miles and miles of countryside.
Which, in turn, means potentially drawn-out negotiations – not just with the owners of the land for the potential mast, but also with the owners of any land that those cables will cross.
Sometimes, building a mast just isn’t possible, despite our best efforts. Particularly in areas of outstanding natural beauty or remote, mountainous regions.
Direct-to-smartphone satellite service: everything you need to know
In a historic first, Vodafone has made the first-ever video call over satellite from an area with no terrestrial mobile coverage. Here’s how it works and what it means for you.
For such distant locations, we’re looking to space for the solution. By working closely with organisations using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, we plan to eventually provide mobile signal to standard off-the-shelf smartphones, without the need for a mast nearby.
This space-based network technology is a game changer.
At Vodafone, we’re in a great place to be able to do this, through unique global partnerships with the likes of AST SpaceMobile.
Using LEO satellites, they are currently building the first space-based mobile network that can be used directly by standard mobile phones without the need for specialised equipment like dishes. Better yet, the testing of this technology has already started.
In September 2023, in a world first, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile successfully completed a space-based 5G voice call. The call took place between Hawaii and a Vodafone engineer in Spain, José Guevara.
Pushing the limits of the final frontier even further, we’ve just completed 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.
The video call was made in mid-Wales by engineer Rowan Chesmer, on a standard 4G/5G smartphone, to Margherita Della Vella, our Group Chief Executive.
It’s a fantastic start. But, when looking at space-based technology, there’s a lot to consider.
There are international regulatory factors as well as technical ones. However, the early signs are good, so the wider Vodafone organisation can now work towards a potential commercial launch of the service at some point in the future.
As sophisticated as they are, satellites are unlikely to replace trusty masts any time soon. Masts remain the best and most cost-effective way to deliver our coverage in most places.
So, we remain committed to existing rural network programmes, such as the Shared Rural Network (SRN) – the £1 billion joint-funded initiative between government and the UK mobile network operators.
Satellites could instead complement our existing network masts, eliminating coverage gaps in places we otherwise couldn’t reach and supporting our ongoing commitment to close the digital divide.
With technology of this kind, our customers located in especially remote areas of the UK countryside will be able to access the internet, granting them access to online healthcare, education and financial services. Meanwhile, isolated businesses will have the tools they need to access global markets.
Satellite technology is just another example of how – as The Nation’s Network – we are boldly moving forwards to ensure our customers have the connectivity they expect.
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