Vodafone has made what it calls “the world’s first” satellite video call using a standard smartphone, in a test of a system it says will provide mobile broadband service to 4G and 5G phones without dedicated satellite hardware. The service, using satellites from SpaceX rival AST SpaceMobile, is expected to launch in Europe before the end of 2025.

The BlueBird satellites relayed a video call from a Vodafone engineer positioned in a remote mountain region of the UK using an unmodified consumer smartphone.

Vodafone said it had made the world's first video call via satellite using a standard smartphone from a remote location, and it plans to roll out the technology for its users across Europe later this year and in 2026.