Vodacom targets satellite phone service by late 2027
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria
Telecoms group Vodacom plans a satellite phone service in South Africa by late 2027, with AST SpaceMobile as its likely partner. It is also considering data centres for artificial intelligence in South Africa and Kenya, while its net debt reaches 135.6 billion rand, according to Business Day.
South African telecoms group Vodacom is aiming for a commercial satellite phone service in South Africa by late 2027, with the American company AST SpaceMobile as its likely technology partner, according to Shameel Joosub, chief executive of Vodacom Group, speaking to TechCentral after the publication of its interim results on Tuesday.
The technology connects standard smartphones directly to low-orbit satellites, in order to extend mobile network coverage to areas that terrestrial infrastructure serves poorly or not at all. Vodafone, Vodacom’s British parent company, has backed AST SpaceMobile since 2020.
The group’s net debt rose by 78.8 billion rand to reach 135.6 billion rand for the year ended September, partly because of the acquisition of an additional stake in Safaricom, the Kenyan operator. Vodacom is also considering setting up data centres dedicated to artificial intelligence in South Africa and Kenya, after a proposed $1 billion investment in Egypt. In the same market, Airtel Africa launched a commercial Starlink Mobile service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August, limited to SMS and certain data, without voice calls. MTN is meanwhile testing direct-to-mobile connectivity in South Africa with Lynk Global.
