Vodacom hopes to launch a service connecting ordinary smartphones directly to satellites in South Africa by the end of 2027. Group chief executive Shameel Joosub said Vodacom would "more than likely" do it with AST SpaceMobile, a US company that has been backed by Vodacom's UK parent, Vodafone, since 2020. Joosub confirmed the target in interviews after Vodacom's interim results on Tuesday, 10 November.

Direct-to-cell satellite service lets a normal smartphone connect to a satellite overhead when there is no cellphone tower in range, without a special phone or dish. Vodacom first partnered with AST SpaceMobile at the end of 2020, though AST's original plan, which targeted equatorial countries first, was delayed and changed.

In September 2023, Vodafone and AST made what they called the world's first space-based 5G voice call, using an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22 and a test satellite. AST now has 12 commercial satellites in orbit and aims to have 45 by mid-2027 and more than 100 later, but its rollout so far has focused on the US, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the UK, where it expects to switch on intermittent service before the end of 2026.

Vodacom also has deals with Starlink and Amazon's Leo network, but neither covers direct-to-phone service. Both are for satellite broadband to businesses and links to remote cell towers, and Vodacom has tested Starlink tower links in Mozambique. Starlink is unlikely to be the partner for a South African phone service by 2027 anyway, partly because SpaceX does not yet have the licences it needs to operate here.

Vodacom says satellite connectivity is also one of the reasons it wants South Africa's old 2G and 3G networks switched off. In the same interviews, Joosub named South Africa and Kenya, after Egypt, as the markets where Vodacom hopes to build regional AI data centre hubs, though planning for both is at an early stage.

TechCentral's Duncan McLeod reported Joosub's comments and the 2027 target. MyBroadband confirmed the plan with a Vodacom spokesperson. BusinessDay Nigeria placed it in a wider race among African operators, noting that Airtel Africa switched on a commercial Starlink Mobile service in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August, offering text messaging and limited data.

For anyone who has lost signal on a rural road, a mountain pass or a farm, the appeal is obvious: a phone that can still send a message, and eventually make a call, when there is no tower anywhere nearby. That matters for safety as much as convenience.

But Vodacom is realistic about its role. Joosub sees the biggest opportunity in countries with limited coverage, such as Ethiopia and the DRC, while in markets like South Africa, satellite "will form part of the mix and give us the ability to provide coverage everywhere. But generally, I think you'd use mobile networks."

So expect a safety net for dead zones, starting with texts and limited data, rather than a replacement for normal signal.

It also shows how much licences shape who gets to compete. Starlink's satellites could in theory offer the same thing, but as we covered when SpaceX told ICASA licences are scarce, it cannot easily operate here, which leaves the door open for Vodacom and its partners. And Vodacom's AI data centre plans add to a growing list of companies looking at building AI capacity in Africa.

You might also like our piece on Starlink's throttling in Ukraine, a robot building in space, and Google's space data centre.

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