The operator has deepened its relationship with AST SpaceMobile and will create a jointly-owned European wholesale satellite service business
After a number of recent announcements drawing the two companies closer, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile have taken their relationship to new heights. They plan to create a jointly owned European satellite company to provide direct-to-device services to mobile operators, named SatCo for the time being at least.
The new venture will be the exclusive distributor of AST SpaceMobile’s services to mobile operators in Europe, provided on a “turnkey” basis that includes network management and a network operations centre. It will also build and run a terrestrial backhaul network to connect MNOs to the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
The JV seek to provide 100% geographic coverage in every part of Europe to give consumers and businesses access to secure space-based cellular broadband connectivity via their mobile operator.
Vodafone said it aims to introduce commercial space-based mobile broadband connectivity across Europe during 2025 and 2026. AST SpaceMobile claims to be the only LEO satellite operator that can deliver mobile broadband to 4G or 5G smartphones. The system is based on Nokia’s Single RAN AirScale equipment, which is part of a five-year deal the vendor won with AST SpaceMobile in July 2022.
Vodafone’s SatCo ambitions
The new SatCo venture will bring the direct-to-device services not just to Vodafone and Vodafone’s Partner Markets but to other mobile network operators as well to improve cellular coverage.
“We can fill in all the dead zones and that has a lot of value,” said Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile, speaking during a “V-Talk” on Vodafone’s stand at MWC25.
“We’re hugely excited by the opportunity… It’s a game changer. It allows us as operators to create a promise that we can keep – that is, if you see the sky, you will get five bars of coverage,” said Tom Griffiths, Head of Subscription Platforms and Innovation at Vodafone, speaking at the same event.
Along with filling in coverage not-spots, Vodafone also sees opportunities for the technology to provide disaster recovery services as well as connectivity for Internet of Things where there is no terrestrial coverage.
Griffiths said the commercial proposition for that coverage “assurance” could be built into customers’ price plans or could be purchased when needed, much like buying “in-flight Wi-Fi”.
Space-based mobile broadband
The SatCo’s services will be “distributed in Europe and a European sovereign solution,” said Wisniewski.
This sovereignty aspect of AST’s proposition appeals to Vodafone, and the system enables mobile operators to remain in control of their radio access network (RAN) and mobile traffic.
“AST offers antennas in the sky, which is really important to us in Europe because it allows us to offer a sovereign network”, said Griffiths.
Wisniewski explained that mobile operators have been involved early on in the development of AST’s technology and architecture.
“The architecture is co-owned and co-run with the operators. We’re basically the radio head, and we use the same baseband and the same core… That means we’re just a transparent digital repeater. We don’t see or touch the traffic. It goes up in your country and comes down in your country. So it’s very friendly to operators and to regulators,” said Wisniewski.
European Commission and Space Agency
The move comes as the European Commission and European Space Agency inch their way to sovereign satellite services, signing contracts with Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES in December to to develop the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) constellation of more than 290 satellites, aiming to enter service by 2031.
The current state of the geopolitical world has meant Europe must recognise future Starlink and Amazon Kuiper deals might be subject to change.
SatCo’s solution will fully support European digital sovereignty unlike tech bro constellations which, depending on the current political whim, could be turned off at a most inconvenient time. Vodafone points out AST SpaceMobile’s satellites already operate as remote radio heads where the core network capability remains with the MNO. SatCo builds on this by providing fully sovereign backhaul capabilities under Vodafone co-ownership, with European headquarters and management.
Last week, Amazon Kuiper released some research from Analysys Mason that suggested, after looking at seven countries across the EU, that up to 4.2 million people could be served by LEO satellite constellations by 2030, saving up to €26 billion in subsidies when compared to the expected cost of installing fibre to the home (FTTH) broadband in these harder to reach areas.
The report found that LEO satellite is estimated to be more cost-effective than fibre to the home (FTTH) for up to 42% of the most rural households, depending on the country and bandwidth scenario. Needless to say, the cost of deploying fibre continues to fall and the report potentially overlooks the role fixed wireless access can play here. However, as a rural solution, it certainly needs to be in the mix of policy options for Europe’s governments.
Turnkey service
“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’,” said Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle.
AST and Vodafone had already signed a definitive commercial agreement through 2034 establishing a framework to offer SpaceMobile services in its 20+ countries across Europe and Africa. “Together with Vodafone, we are poised to accelerate our commercialisation plans across all of Europe, making true mobile broadband from space a reality” said AST SpaceMobile founder, chairman and CEO Abel Avellan.
On 19 February 2025, Vodafone, AST SpaceMobile, and the University of Málaga also launched a new space and land mobile broadband research and validation hub, supported by the Spanish Space Agency. Set to open by Summer 2025 at Vodafone’s existing Innovation Centre in Malaga, the hub will develop integrated low Earth orbit space-based and land mobile broadband services.
In support of its European expansion, AST SpaceMobile is also enhancing its presence in Spain with the recent opening of 5,600 square metres of manufacturing and office space in Barcelona.
Big backing
AST said it has nearly $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet pro forma for the recent offering of convertible notes and is already beginning testing with AT&T and Verizon in the US, Vodafone in the UK and Turkey, and Rakuten in Japan. It recently secured contract for $43 million in expected revenue with the US Space Development Agency (SDA) through a prime contractor, following successful testing on BlueWalker-3.
It has also received an FCC grant of Special Temporary Authority (STA) with AT&T and Verizon to facilitate initial services, targeting approximately 100% nationwide coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells. In operations, AST has exercised an option for additional orbital launches, with full contracted launch capacity now for approximately 60 satellites during 2025 and 2026. Its Block 2 BlueBird satellites span an unprecedented 2,400 square feet, more than three times larger than the first five BlueBird satellites in orbit today.
On the tech innovation front AST said it has completed bring-up and initial validation of novel ASIC – a custom, low-power chip designed to support up to 10,000MHz in processing bandwidth per satellite with peak data transmissions speeds of up to 120Mbps.
