Mission Kuiper will join geographically dispersed mobile antennas again to Vodafone’s core telecom community
Vodafone Group and Amazon’s Mission Kuiper will use low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite tv for pc expertise to increase 4G and 5G connectivity in Europe and Africa, significantly for these in underserved communities.
Mission Kuiper will join geographically dispersed mobile antennas again to Vodafone’s core telecom community, which can allow the corporate to supply superior mobile providers in additional places with out the necessity for fiber-based builds or fastened wi-fi hyperlinks again to the core community.
Based on Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief govt, these connections can be “complemented additional via [the carrier’s] personal work on direct-to-smartphone satellite tv for pc providers.” A lot of that work includes its collaboration with AST SpaceMobile, a U.S.-based satellite tv for pc designer and producer.
Amazon’s Kuiper LEO system was given the go-ahead by the Federal Communications Fee in 2020 for a constellation of three,236 satellites at varied altitudes and in January, the corporate introduced in depth testing. On the time, it set the aim to supply “high-capacity, low-latency broadband communications providers to tens of thousands and thousands of unserved and underserved customers and companies.”
Of the current information, Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vp for units and providers commented: “Teaming with a number one worldwide service supplier like Vodafone permits us to make an even bigger impression quicker in closing the digital divide in Europe and Africa. Collectively we’ll discover how we may also help our prospects get essentially the most worth from expanded connectivity, significantly in areas like residential broadband, agriculture, training, healthcare, transportation, and monetary providers.”
Amazon is getting ready to check two prototype satellites this yr, with deployment anticipated to kick off in 2024. As a part of the partnerships, Vodafone will take part in that testing, as mentioned that as Amazon’s manufacturing satellites come on-line, providers can be deployed for its prospects in Africa and Europe.
