Vodafone Spain has reached a commercial agreement with Satellite Connect Europe, a Luxembourg-based provider of 'direct-to-device' (D2D) satellite connectivity, with the aim of enabling direct satellite connection to mobile phones and thus ensuring continuous coverage in remote areas, emergency situations, corporate environments, and for individual users.
Vodafone's Director of Technology and Operations, Julia Velasco, announced this during the DigitalES Summit, which is taking place this Wednesday and Thursday in Madrid.
The VodafoneSAT service is designed to provide additional connectivity to companies and isolated areas as an extra layer of resilience, providing a signal where the traditional mobile network does not reach, including rural areas, maritime areas, and emergency or natural disaster scenarios, as well as security crisis responses.
Thanks to this technology, a user with a mobile phone in a location without coverage will be able to send messages via applications or consult maps, using the available spectrum very efficiently.
Among the main foreseen uses are emergency response, connectivity in rural areas and at sea, as well as applications in defense, security, agriculture, and business services.
Throughout 2026, use cases will be launched with companies, public administrations, and sectors considered strategic, in order to develop practical applications based on this satellite solution.
The service is expected to be commercialized starting in 2027, subject to the evolution of the regulatory framework. However, in exceptional or emergency circumstances, its early deployment could be authorized, always with the relevant institutional approvals.
Telefónica reinforces its collaboration with Satellite Connect Europe
On the other hand, Telefónica already announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) that it was collaborating with Satellite Connect Europe to explore the application of satellite-enabled services for consumers, businesses, and public services in Spain and Germany, as announced this Monday by the Spanish "telco".
The collaboration will focus on analyzing how "D2D" satellite capabilities could be integrated with Telefónica's existing 4G and 5G networks, with the aim of complementing terrestrial connectivity and improving network resilience in specific scenarios, such as remote areas or exceptional circumstances, maintaining an operator-managed experience.