Vodafone’s First Satellite Video Call Using a Smartphone

Vodafone Achieves World’s First Satellite Video Call on Standard Smartphone

Vodafone has announced a groundbreaking achievement: the world’s first video call made via satellite using a standard smartphone. The successful call took place on Monday. Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle received the call from company engineer Rowan Chesmer. He was situated in the remote Welsh mountains. This area is devoid of traditional network coverage.

“We were using the only satellite service that can offer a full mobile experience with a normal device. This service provides everything from voice to text to video data transmission. That is why we did a full video call,” Della Valle explained in an interview on Wednesday. This marks a significant step forward in bridging the digital divide and connecting remote areas.

Vodafone plans to roll out this revolutionary technology to its customers across Europe later this year and into 2026. The company is leveraging AST SpaceMobile’s constellation of five BlueBird satellites in low-Earth orbit to achieve this feat. These satellites provide transmission speeds of up to 120 megabits per second, enabling seamless connectivity for standard smartphones.

Vodafone’s investment in AST SpaceMobile aligns with a broader industry trend. The British company joins a growing list of tech giants. This list includes AT&T, Verizon, and Google. They are investing in satellite communication technologies. Mobile operators and smartphone manufacturers are racing to deploy satellite services. They aim to eliminate gaps in network coverage. This will provide connectivity to even the most remote locations. This development promises to revolutionize communication, bringing reliable mobile services to areas previously considered unreachable.