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Vodafone has launched a new satellite mobile venture in an attempt to tackle rural “not-spots” and take on Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The British telecoms giant has inked a deal with Texas-based AST SpaceMobile to create a new joint venture that will beam satellite broadband connections directly to smartphones.
The service will allow businesses and consumers to browse the web, send messages and make video calls in areas with no mobile coverage. It is aiming to reach 100pc geographic coverage across Europe.
The move underscores efforts by Vodafone to use nascent satellite technology to eradicate so-called mobile “not-spots” in rural areas that have long frustrated consumers.
The mobile giant, which has 340m customers worldwide, is looking to mount a challenge to rival services such as Starlink, which is run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper.
BT-owned EE and Virgin Media O2 are already trialling Starlink’s technology, while T-Mobile is testing services from Mr Musk’s company in the US.
However, Vodafone argues its technology is superior because it works directly with 4G and 5G smartphones without the need for any additional equipment.
Margherita Della Valle, the chief executive of Vodafone, said: “Vodafone’s space-based mobile broadband will mean our customers can stay connected, wherever they are.
“Our new satellite company will be able to offer this pioneering technology to other European mobile operators through a turnkey service that combines Vodafone’s leading network and engineering with AST SpaceMobile’s ‘antennas in the sky’.”
The launch of the new venture comes after Vodafone successfully tested the world’s first space video call from a remote area of Wales. The company plans to launch its satellite mobile service for UK customers later this year.
AST SpaceMobile operates a network of low-orbit satellites that beam broadband signals down to Earth. The joint venture will build and run a network of ground stations to link these signals to mobile networks across Europe.
Vodafone holds a stake of almost 5pc in AST SpaceMobile, valued at roughly $300m (£237m).
It comes amid uncertainty over the future of a £1bn government project to tackle rural “not-spots”, dubbed the Shared Rural Network.
Britain’s mobile network operators have completed the first stage of the project. However, officials are understood to be planning to water down the second phase – which aims to address the most remote areas – in an attempt to cut costs.
As part of the tie-up, AST SpaceMobile is launching a new research hub in Malaga, while it has also expanded its presence in Spain with the recent opening of 5,600 square meters of manufacturing and office space in Barcelona.
Abel Avellan, the chairman and chief executive of AST SpaceMobile, said: “Together with Vodafone, we are poised to accelerate our commercialisation plans across all of Europe, making true mobile broadband from space a reality.”