By Paul Sandle
LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Mobile operator Vodafone
is backing a satellite venture that aims to broadcast a mobile
broadband network from space, potentially boosting its 4G - and
in the future 5G - coverage for users without the need for a
specialised handset.
Vodafone said on Tuesday it had invested $25 million in
Texas-based AST & Science's space-based network, becoming the
lead investor alongside Japan's Rakuten Inc.
The U.S. company plans to launch the world's first
low-earth-orbit, low-latency satellite network - called
SpaceMobile - that is able to connect directly to a smartphone.
The network's signal will help to fortify a partner mobile
operator's coverage, for example in rural areas or when a signal
is disrupted in a crisis, with users automatically roaming from
the land network to the space network.
Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Read said SpaceMobile would
further enhance the company's network across Europe and Africa -
especially in rural areas and during a natural or humanitarian
disaster - for customers on their existing smartphones.
The space network will not be designed for high-density
areas already covered by terrestrial networks, Vodafone said.
The mobile operator - the world's second biggest - will help
AST & Science validate its technology, provide ground equipment
to support its satellites and help negotiate with regulators.
It said the technology will be particularly suitable for
very rural communities, and therefore could initially deployed
in some of its African markets.
Vodafone said AST & Science had successfully tested its
SpaceMobile technology aboard the BlueWalker 1 satellite,
launched last April.
The investment brings the total raised by AST & Science to
$128 million, Vodafone said, including from other investors
American Tower, Cisneros, Samsung NEXT and founder Abel Avellan.
(Editing by Jane Merriman)
Vodafone (VOD)
