Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile Announce New EU Satellite Constellation and Select Germany for European Sovereign Satellite Operations Centre
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile announce new satellite constellation
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile select Germany for Satellite Operations Centre to further strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty.
Move follows establishment of Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile Luxembourg-headquartered satellite joint venture, SatCo.
Planned EU constellation to be equipped with a "command switch" to provide European oversight and security.
AST SpaceMobile filed with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) through Germany for registration of a new mid-band satellite constellation.
November 07, 2025 AST SpaceMobile Inc, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government application, and Vodafone Group Plc, a leading European and African telecommunications company, announce today that they have selected Germany as the location for their main Satellite Operations Centre. The centre will allocate and map satellite connectivity used by SatCo to serve mobile network operators (MNOs) across Europe to ensure ubiquitous mobile broadband in underserved areas and support emergency services and disaster relief agencies. It will be located near either Munich or Hannover, depending on final negotiations with all relevant parties.
SatCo aims to provide a scalable European satellite mobile broadband service for use by MNOs to benefit all European citizens, businesses and public sector organisations. MNOs in 21 European Union (EU) member states and other European countries have expressed interest in adopting the service, with commercial launch planned to commence from 2026.
The planned EU constellation will include a comprehensive ‘command switch’ feature to support European oversight and security. This capability supports 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 efforts (PPDR). It does this by providing 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.
The planned satellite constellation can also contribute 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 (EUCCS) vision. In particular, the satellites will support frequency bands that are suitable for PPDR radio communications, subject to national decisions and deployment choices.
About AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile’s joint efforts have already led to a series of groundbreaking achievements in direct-to-device connectivity with everyday smartphones, including:
The world's first space-based video call to an unmodified phone in Europe
The world’s first space-based 4G and 5G calls using unmodified phones
Download speeds of over 20 Mbps to unmodified phones on a 5 MHz channel
AST SpaceMobile has agreements with over 50 mobile network operators with nearly 3 billion subscribers globally. Its technology, backed by over 3,700 patent and patent-pending claims, is designed to support both government and commercial customers. The company is based in Midland, Texas with 95% vertically integrated manufacturing and nearly 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facilities. The next-generation Block 2 BlueBirds featuring up to 2,400 square foot communications arrays, are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird satellites in orbit today, enabling peak data transmission speeds up to 120 Mbps, supporting.
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