Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile to build satellite operations center in Germany

The British company Vodafone and the Texan satellite operator AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) have chosen Germany as the location for their satellite operations center. The two companies have jointly founded a European satellite provider called SatCo, which is intended to offer satellite and network capacities to European mobile network operators (MNOs) so that they can offer their customers broadband internet on conventional smartphones in underserved areas.

In Munich or Hanover

With the joint venture SatCo, the two companies want to occupy the market for satellite communication on smartphones early on and cut the ground from under competitors like Starlink in Europe. According to Vodafone, MNOs in 21 EU member states and other European countries have expressed interest in using the service, which is planned to launch commercially from 2026. According to ASTS and Vodafone, SatCo aims for “100 percent geographic coverage across Europe” to enable consumers and businesses to access “secure space-based cellular broadband connections via their mobile operator.”

As part of the rollout of the offering, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile have selected Germany as the location for their satellite operations center. This will house the control center for the necessary ground-based satellite technology. However, they have not yet definitively decided on a location for the operations center: it is to be built either “near Munich or Hanover,” according to it in the press release. Negotiations about the location are not yet concluded.

Technical control for all of Europe

According to Vodafone, the “satellite network for all of Europe will be technically controlled, orchestrated, and monitored” from this operations center. For example, all telemetry, tracking, and control encryptions for the so-called S-band for connecting smartphones from space will be orchestrated via the control center. The so-called Q/V-band for connections between satellites and ground stations will also be able to be “quickly adapted at any time” from here. Furthermore, the control center can be used to perform “the modification of service encryption keys for communication across the entire continent,” “as well as the activation, deactivation, and alignment of satellite coverage circles across Europe,” according to Vodafone.

In addition to the commercial offering of mobile broadband, which allows users to make video calls, stream, or use messengers even in areas without mobile coverage, the satellite network will also serve to support Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) by providing emergency services with a fail-safe communication infrastructure. According to Vodafone, the satellite network will also contribute to the development of a “pan-European mobile broadband system” that will improve communication and coordination of emergency services during crises and disasters. This is intended to be “in line with the vision of the EU Critical Communications System (EUCCS).”

In addition to controlling the satellite network, which is largely automated, engineers at the operations center will monitor space events such as solar storms to detect any impact on satellite technology in good time and react if necessary.

In initial tests, the partners have achieved initial successes according to their statements, including the first 4G and 5G calls as well as a video call from space to an unmodified smartphone in Europe. Download speeds of over 20 Mbit/s were measured. The new generation of BlueBird satellites developed by ASTS are considered advanced; according to Vodafone, they deliver peak data rates of up to 120 Mbit/s, partly due to their huge antennas with an area of 223 m². Based on this, Vodafone and ASTS demonstrated the first satellite-based video call with commercially available smartphones earlier this year. At the time, it was stated that they wanted to launch the service as early as 2025.

(afl)