Vodafone Group and partner AST SpaceMobile asserted they had got a jump on rivals in the space connectivity race after conducting what they stated is the world’s first video call using a smartphone and satellites in an area with no mobile coverage.

In a statement, the operator explained it completed the feat from a remote mobile dead zone in a mountainous part of Wales, with engineer Rowan Chesmar making the “historic first space mobile video call” to the company’s CEO Margherita Della Valle (pictured, left) in Newbury, UK.

The call was made using AST SpaceMobile’s satellites and Della Valle was joined by UK astronaut Tim Peake (pictured, right) as the pair unveiled Vodafone’s new space-to-land gateway.

Vodafone’s gateway receives and channels all signals sent from a user’s smartphone to AST SpaceMobile’s Bluebird satellites, connecting “seamlessly” with the operator’s terrestrial network.

As part of the unveiling, the gateway was put to the test with Chesmar making the call from an area Vodafone stated never had mobile broadband access before.

Operating in low Earth orbit, Vodafone’s said its satellite service is the only one in the world which offers mobile broadband directly to multiple 4G or 5G smartphones, working seamlessly as an extension of its land-based networks.

The company aims to offer the first commercial direct-to-device service in Europe later this year.

Firsts
Della Valle said complementing its advanced European 5G network with satellite technology would help close the digital divide, while ensuring reliable connectivity in rural areas in an emergency.

Abel Avellan, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said the feat adds to several firsts in space-based broadband connectivity achieved by the pair, including the first 5G call

AST SpaceMobile faces stiff competition, battling in the satellite sector with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Lynk Global and others.