Satellite video calls will be coming to Europe from later this year, following a successful demo of the tech by Vodafone in partnership with AST SpaceMobile. Rollout in the US through AT&T will follow some time later.
As with existing satellite text and voice calls, the service will operate in remote areas where no cellular coverage is available …
Apple led the way with satellite texts
While satellite communication via dedicated hardware devices has been available for decades, it’s only in recent years that we’ve seen the capability extended to ordinary smartphones.
Apple led the way with its Emergency SOS via Satellite service, which launched back in 2022, allowing access to 911 services in isolated areas without cellular coverage. The service was last year extended to allow you to message family and friends also.
Apple initially partnered with Globalstar for these features, but we learned this week that it’s also working with SpaceX and T-Mobile to add Starlink satellite connectivity.
Voice and data demonstrated in 2023
AST SpaceMobile demonstrated in 2023 that smartphones can also make voice calls via satellite comms, as well as accessing mobile data.
Company engineers demonstrated space-based 5G connectivity by placing a call from Maui, Hawaii, USA, to a Vodafone engineer in Madrid, Spain, using AT&T spectrum and AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 test satellite […]
In a separate test, the company broke its previous space-based cellular broadband data session record by achieving a download rate of approximately 14 Mbps.
Satellite video calls coming from this year
The same company has now partnered with Vodafone to demonstrate video calling via satellite, between what appears to be an iPhone and an Android phone.
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 […]
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.
You can watch the call below.
The company says that the service will launch in Europe later this year, and that coverage will be complete by the end of 2026.
The Verge reports that AT&T is also testing services in the US, but this is likely to launch some time after Vodafone’s service rolls out in Europe.
Neither company has announced pricing.
Image: Vodafone
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