Vodafone, AST SpaceMobile form base for EU satellite constellation

Following the establishment of their SatCo joint venture, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile have further advanced their ambition to tap into satellite communications by announcing Germany as the primary location for their operations centre.

AST SpaceMobile is building “the first and only” space-based cellular broadband network directly accessible by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications. The company said SatCo aims to provide a scalable European satellite mobile broadband service for use by managed network operators (MNOs) to benefit all European citizens, businesses and public sector organisations.

The planned EU constellation will include what is described as a “comprehensive” command switch feature to support European oversight and security. This capability will support updating all telemetry, tracking and control (TTC) encryption keys for both S-Band (used to connect smartphones from space) and Q/V-Band (used for links between satellites and earth stations). It also allows for the modification of service encryption keys for communications across the continent, as well as manages the activation, deactivation and direction of satellite beams in Europe.

In addition to commercial mobile broadband, the constellation will support public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) efforts. It will look to do this by providing what the partners guarantee will be reliable, broadband-speed connectivity from space directly to the everyday smartphones and other cellular devices of emergency responders, even in the most dangerous and challenging environments.

SatCo sees Germany’s strategically central location as providing the ideal foundation to complement terrestrial networks, supporting the need to keep users across Europe remain securely connected anytime, anywhere.

Depending on final negotiations with all relevant parties, the command centre will be located near either Munich or Hannover. Once the precise German location is finalised, it will allocate and map satellite connectivity used by SatCo to serve MNOs across Europe to offer ubiquitous mobile broadband in underserved areas and support emergency services and disaster relief agencies.

The planned satellite constellation is also seen as being able to make a positive contribution to the development of a pan-European mobile broadband system, enhancing the communication and coordination of emergency services during crises and disasters, in line with the EU Critical Communication System vision. The satellites will support frequency bands that are suitable for PPDR radio communications, subject to national decisions and deployment choices.

In addition to dealing with automated functions, specialist engineers at the operations centre will monitor and respond to extraterrestrial events such as solar flares, as well as to manage issues that arise on Earth. It will house one of a network of SatCo ground-based gateway stations across Europe. These gateways are designed to provide secure backhaul links between the satellite constellation and terrestrial 4G/5G networks, enabling users to switch automatically between space-based and land-based coverage for uninterrupted, resilient connectivity.

AST SpaceMobile has submitted through Germany the appropriate filings with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialised agency of the United Nations. This will help to manage and mitigate any signal interference and ensure the smooth integration with existing mobile telecoms networks.

In addition to providing service to all EU MNOs using their national spectrum bands, SatCo is a candidate for access to the EU 2GHz Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum. If secured, this would enable existing MNOs to distribute a fully pan-European, sovereign, space-based broadband service directly to their customers. The aforementioned PPDR frequency bands (698–703/753–758 MHz and 733–736/788–791 MHz) would be used to support this capability.

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile said that already MNOs in 21 European Union member states and other European countries have expressed interest in adopting the service, with commercial launch planned to commence from 2026.

Commenting on the announcement, Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone, said: “SatCo delivers a sovereign satellite solution to the whole of Europe. It will give European operators access to secure and resilient satellite communications, complementing existing terrestrial telecommunications networks. By establishing a satellite constellation in the EU and our principal command centre in Germany, we are ensuring the next frontier of communications infrastructure is firmly embedded in Europe.”

Abel Avellan, founder, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, added: “Together with Vodafone, we are accelerating the arrival of true mobile broadband from space across Europe. Germany’s operations centre will be the operations hub for our BlueBird constellation in Europe, enabling us to serve millions of users. Alongside our gateways, we are building a robust, secure infrastructure that ensures Europe stays connected with seamless mobile broadband, always.”