First space-based voice call made with a standard smartphone

A US company has succeeded in making the first space-based voice call using an unmodified smartphone.

AST SpaceMobile, along with partners Vodafone, Rakuten and AT&T, achieved this milestone using a low-Earth orbit satellite that enabled two-way phone calls.

It is hoped that the first test calls will mark the start of AST SpaceMobile’s mission to provide space-based connectivity to the approximately 50 percent of the world’s population who do not have access to a broadband mobile network.

“We have accomplished what many once thought was impossible: we have reached the most significant milestone yet in our journey to deliver global cellular broadband Internet from space,” said Abel Avellan, CEO of AST SpaceMobile.

“While we take a moment to celebrate this tremendous achievement, we remain focused on the path ahead and the critical next steps that will bring us closer to our goal of transforming the way the world is connected.”

AST SpaceMobile is currently the only company building a global cellular broadband network in space that works with standard, unmodified mobile devices.

Instead of relying on terrestrial cell towers, users can connect directly via satellite using traditional phones.

Networks such as AT&T and Vodafone could add the space-based service to their current plans, allowing customers to make and receive calls in so-called dead zones.

AST SpaceMobile said it had entered into “agreements and understandings” with mobile network operators around the world serving around 2 billion people, including Orange in Europe, Telecom in South America and Telstra in Australia.

In most regions, regulatory approvals must be obtained before commercial operations can begin.

The first successful call was made on April 20 using a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone and connected a caller in Texas using the AT&T network to a recipient in Japan using the Rakuten network via AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone, said: “30 years after Vodafone sent the world’s first SMS, we have helped AST SpaceMobile make the first successful test call directly to a smartphone via satellite communications.”