Direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite operator AST SpaceMobile said on Monday it has signed a definitive ten-year commercial agreement with Vodafone Group to roll out its services in Vodafone’s markets worldwide.
The agreement – which runs until 2034 – establishes a framework for Vodafone’s operators to offer AST’s D2D service in their home markets. For Africa and Asia, that includes Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, India and Turkey.
The agreement also Vodafone’s Partner Markets programme, members of which include Pacific Islands countries like Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu, among others. Argentina, Chile and Peru in South America are also Vodafone Partner Markets members, as are Azerbaijan, Oman and Qatar.
AST SpaceMobile aims to fill in mobile coverage gaps in underserved and unserved areas using its BlueBird LEO satellites that support traffic from standard mobile phones. The satellites direct the traffic to terrestrial BlueBird gateways that connect to mobile operator networks. Vodafone has placed an order for its first Block 1 BlueBird gateway.
The satellite company launched the first block of five BlueBird satellites in October 2024, although these only provide coverage in the US, so Vodafone’s operators and partner countries have some time to wait before the service becomes available. AST Spacemobile plans to start launching the first of its next-generation Block 2 BlueBird LEOsats sometime next year.
The Block 2 BlueBirds feature communications arrays up to 2,400 square feet, and are designed to deliver peak data speeds up to 120 Mbps, supporting voice, full data, and video applications. The current generation technology has delivered download speeds over 20 Mbps over a 5-MHz channel in tests.
Vodafone has been one of AST SpaceMobile’s biggest investors since 2018, as well as a key technology development partner. At the start of this year, AST SpaceMobile secured US$206.5 million in new financing, including a US$155 million strategic investment from Vodafone and new investors AT&T and Google. Verizon, Rakuten, American Tower, Cisneros Group and Bell Canada are also investors.
AST SpaceMobile has signed over 45 agreements and understandings with mobile network operators, including NOW Corp, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications in the Philippines, TIM in Brazil, Zain KSA in Saudi Arabia, Safaricom in Kenya, and Uganda Telecom, among others.
