Despite some slippage in the launch of extra satellites from AST SpaceMobile to early 2027, Vodafone, its key European technology partner, has restated its commitment to starting a ‘beta’ satellite service for the UK “at the beginning of 2027”.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, commented: “‘Our partner AST is currently predicting, after the last replanning, that we will have available 45 satellites at the beginning of 2027. This is the number that we need to start our beta testing in the UK, which will be the first market where we launch.’

She added: “I genuinely believe it’s a really important service for our customers (…) Knowing you can be always connected, whether it’s for safety reasons, whether it’s for family or work reasons, whether you’re in the middle of the sea or on top of a mountain.”

Vodafone signed its partnership agreement with AST back in March 2025 and this led to the establishment of its Satellite Connect Europe joint-venture. Vodafone and AST’s joint venture (initially called SatCo) now operating a Satellite Connect Europe to provide direct-to-device (D2D) satellite mobile broadband. The service aims to eliminate mobile dead zones across Europe using standard mobile phones.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, UK, Vodafone