Vodafone
Vodafone realized what he says is the first smartphone video call compatible with satellite in the United Kingdom.
The company says that the call – from a mountain in Ceredigion, in the west of Wales – is part of the process of adding satellite connectivity to its British telephone network by the end of the year, and through Europe in 2026.
Vodafone boss, Margherita della Valle, says that she could eliminate “stains” – places without mobile signal – what estimates of the OFCOM regulator can be found in 9% of the United Kingdom.
However, experts say that regulatory obstacles will have to be authorized and that many other satellites have been launched for the service to take off.
And astronomers warn the growing number of satellites in orbit, it is more difficult to study space.
How does it work?
Satellite connectivity allows ordinary phones to operate as normal with full internet access when there is no other coverage.
Many Android iphones and devices already have emergency satellite connectivity, but it is currently based on text messages.
Vodafone says he has now gone further with a video call between a company engineer in a place not in the west of Wales and Ms. Della Valle.
“This is a really important moment because we open the door to universal connectivity, to the connection of people in the United Kingdom, wherever they are,” said Della Valle.
She compared the satellites to the “antennas in the sky”, but said that they would not replace existing masts and towers – rather offering an additional layer of coverage.
Telephone users will not require any additional equipment, says the company, as it widens the service.
He does not yet know what the costs for customers will be.
He joined a satellite company called Ast Spacemobile, which has relatively few orbit satellites – Monday’s test had to be carefully timed around a good place, at the right time.
“The challenges are really the fact that it is a relatively new satellite company,” said Luke Pearce, CCS Insight analysts.
“They have some satellites in the air from last year, but they really have to build a complete constellation to be able to offer coherent coverage all the time.”
Pearce said the question of how these satellite services are regulated should still be resolved – something that also affects rival suppliers, such as Elon Musk Starlink.
The OFCOM previously said that it planned to consult in the matter at the beginning of 2025 “.
Is there space in space?
The prospect of more low terrestrial satellites necessary for mobile communications has been criticized by astronomers.
“The international astronomy community is concerned with the growing number of satellites in low terrestrial orbit, which can contaminate astronomical images by leaving bright bright streaks,” said the center of IAU for the protection of the dark sky to BBC.
Others have raised similar concerns, the astrophysicist Dr Megan Argo saying that the increase in satellites “makes it increasingly difficult to study the universe outside of our own atmosphere”.
“In addition to being visually brilliant, the satellites are relatively hot, therefore shining in the infrared and transmitting radio signals which are increasingly obscuring our vision of the universe in several regions of the electromagnetic spectrum”, a- She said to the BBC.
And she said there was a critical consequence of that – which made it more difficult to spot it asteroids.
“Identifying potentially dangerous asteroids that may one day have an impact on earth is important work, but becomes more difficult as more and more satellites are launched,” she said.
But the astronaut Tim Peak – who joined Vodafone for the video call – said that there was “a lot of space” in space for more satellites.
“What we need to think about the future, the space becoming so useful for us, is the way we manage and regulate the number of satellites that go up there, how we put them safely or distant them from The planet, and how we protect the space environment while using it for everyone on earth, “he said.
