In This Article:
Vodafone (VOD.L) has pledged to eliminate rural signal “not-spots” with the launch of a new satellite mobile service.
The telecoms giant is rolling out new technology that will allow customers to make and receive video calls, browse the internet and use online messaging services in areas with no mobile coverage.
The service, which is slated to launch later this year, works with normal 4G and 5G smartphones and does not require any additional equipment.
Margherita Della Valle, the chief executive of Vodafone, said the launch would stamp out so-called signal “not-spots” in remote areas and pave the way for universal coverage across the UK.
She said: “There will always be areas, including the sea or particularly remote points of the Earth, that will not be reached by a mobile signal.
“Well, that’s all going to go away now – there won’t be any more not-spots after this year’s launch.”
Telecoms companies are racing to develop satellite mobile and broadband services to help patch up gaps in existing coverage.
Starlink, which is run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper are both developing satellite constellations and carrying out tests.
BT’s (BT-A.L) EE has signed a trial agreement with Starlink, while Virgin Media O2 already uses the company’s technology to help carry signals to mobile masts in remote rural areas. Apple (AAPL) has also been testing Starlink services on iPhones in the US.
Vodafone, which has partnered with US firm AST SpaceMobile, said its technology is superior as it works directly with normal phones.
Ms Della Valle added: “Today people associate the word Starlink to a service that requires special devices, dishes and the like. Here we are talking about a service that is freely available on your normal 5G or 4G smartphone.”
It comes amid uncertainty over the future of a £1bn government-backed project to tackle rural not-spots.
The UK’s mobile operators have successfully completed the first phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN), which aims to extend 4G coverage to 95pc of the UK’s landmass by the end of the year.
But officials are currently consulting on whether to plough ahead with the second stage of the plan, which will be backed by £500m in public funding.
Vodafone said its satellite service will complement the SRN, as well as its existing plans to invest £11bn in UK 5G networks following its merger with Three.
The telecoms company has successfully tested the world’s first space video call from a remote area of Wales. The company has also opened a new space-to-land gateway, which connects satellite signals to its terrestrial mobile network, at its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire.