Major milestone for connectivity takes place on Mayo island
Vodafone Ireland has marked a major milestone for connectivity on the island of Ireland, successfully completing Ireland’s first mobile phone video call via AST SpaceMobile BlueBird satellite using a standard smartphone. The call is the first satellite broadband video call to a standard smartphone in the EU and was made from Clare Island to Dublin. The video call was made in partnership with Satellite Connect Europe connecting to AST SpaceMobile's satellite constellation, by Vodafone Ireland engineer Robert Ivers from Clare Island to Vodafone Ireland CEO Sabrina Casalta in Dublin.
This achievement highlights the potential of satellite technology to help close coverage gaps, strengthen network resilience and ensure people can stay connected wherever they are. This will benefit people living or working in remote areas, farmers, sailors, hikers and mountaineers for example.
The announcement was made during a visit to Ireland by Vodafone Group Chief Executive, Margherita Della Valle, to mark 25 years of Vodafone in Ireland and to meet with the Taoiseach. She briefed him on Ireland’s first satellite enabled mobile broadband call delivered by the company and discussed the future of connectivity, innovation and continued investment. She was joined by Vodafone Group CEO of European Markets, Ahmed Essam.
Critically, satellite connectivity can provide a vital safety net for those living in remote or hard to reach areas and help keep emergency services and communities connected during severe weather events or major outages, when mobile networks can be impacted by disruption to their power supply.
An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, said: “Our new National Digital and AI Strategy, ‘Digital Ireland’ reflects the Government’s ambition to strengthen our position as a digital leader and a global hub for AI innovation. This includes ensuring Ireland remains one of Europe’s best-connected nations, and Vodafone’s innovations in this space are particularly exciting. Ireland’s first satellite mobile call demonstrates how innovation can strengthen resilience, extend connectivity to remote communities and support emergency services. As Vodafone marks 25 years in Ireland, today’s announcement highlights the significant contribution the company has made to our digital economy, connectivity and employment, and how Vodafone continues to build on that legacy through transformative innovation.”
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive said: “Ireland’s first satellite-enabled call reflects Vodafone’s ambition to push the boundaries of connectivity and to invest in technologies that deliver real impact for customers and society. Ireland has been a key part of Vodafone’s success for 25 years connecting people, businesses and communities across the country. To sustain innovation and continued investment in advanced networks, it is essential that this ambition is matched by a stable, forward looking regulatory and legislative environment that supports long term infrastructure investment.”