Europe’s sovereign leap to phone-from-space

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile put a European flag on direct-to-device—and pick Germany for the command center

SAN FRANCISCO — November 7, 2025 (PT)

Europe has talked for years about “digital sovereignty.” This morning it found a crisp, commercial form of it: Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile (AST) are creating a Europe-led satellite constellation and a jointly run operations hub in Germany to beam broadband straight to everyday smartphones—no special handset needed. The JV (branded “SatCo”) is already lining up mobile operators across the bloc and aims to begin commercial rollout in 2026.

What’s actually new

Two details lift this beyond a routine telco–satellite tie-up.

1. A European “command switch.” The planned constellation will include a capability to update telemetry/control encryption keys and service keys for Europe, and to activate/deactivate beams over the region. In plain English: operational sovereignty baked into the network design.
2. A German control room for a pan-EU network. Vodafone and AST shortlisted sites near Munich and Hannover for SatCo’s European Satellite Operations Centre—one of several ground gateways that will knit satellites into 4G/5G cores so phones roam seamlessly between land and space.

The JV’s headquarters is in Luxembourg, reinforcing the “by Europe, for Europe” framing Vodafone has pushed since March. Expressions of interest are in from operators covering 21 EU member states.

Why investors should care now

Timing vs. policy. Brussels’ sovereign satcom flagship IRIS² phases in government services from 2025 and targets full EU-owned capability by 2030. SatCo is commercial—and earlier. It plugs real consumer and public-safety gaps while the EU system matures, and it does so under European oversight. That’s a complementary, not competing, tower of cash flows—retail ARPU via MNOs plus government and PPDR workloads.

Spectrum optionality. AST has filed through Germany at the ITU for a new mid-band constellation and flags candidacy for the EU 2 GHz MSS band (1980–2010 / 2170–2200 MHz), where EU/UK regulators are reassessing usage ahead of licence expiries in 2027. Winning EU-level rights would harden the moat versus ad-hoc national deals.

Security upside (PPDR). The network is being scoped to support public protection and disaster relief bands in 700 MHz (BB-PPDR options defined at CEPT), aligning with the emerging EU Critical Communication System (EUCCS). This unlocks sticky, high-margin agency demand and the insurance-like value of resilient coverage.

The competitive picture, in one chart

• Starlink just crossed ~8 million customers, stitched a major IAG (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling) IFC deal, and is expanding spectrum holdings—proof that vertical integration across aviation + MNOs can scale fast. Expect pricing pressure and higher consumer expectations for “works everywhere.”
• T-Mobile US × Starlink already offers satellite texting and is widening support to popular apps, making “satellite as roaming fallback” a lived experience for millions—an adoption template European MNOs will study closely.
• Lynk Global (now merging with Omnispace) is pushing standards-based D2D with dozens of MNO deals; Luxembourg-based SES is aligned—another reminder that Europe has homegrown options beyond SpaceX.
• Apple–Globalstar continues to expand iPhone satellite features and funding, nudging user behaviour toward space fallback by default—good for the category, even if the stack differs.

What the tech stack looks like

• Satellites & throughput. AST’s next-gen Block-2 BlueBirds carry ~2,400 sq ft arrays, targeting peak 120 Mbps per cell; the company says it has over 50 MNO agreements globally (nearly 3 billion subs addressable).
• Standards. 3GPP Release-17 made NTNs first-class citizens in 5G; Release-18 (5G-Advanced) adds enhancements. Translation: more handset-native behaviour, less bespoke hardware, easier roaming.
• Labs & integration. A new Málaga Satellite Center Lab (Vodafone–AST–University of Málaga) is validating hybrid space/terrestrial features and interference management—useful for scaling Europe-wide without breaking terrestrial KPIs.

Addressable demand is not just “rural”

EU 4G coverage is near-universal, and 5G coverage is high but uneven; users still spend barely ~45% of their time on 5G on average (Q2 2025). The big TAM is geographic: coastlines, mountain corridors, energy/rail routes, maritime and disaster zones—areas where building towers is slow, costly, or impossible. SatCo’s pan-regional turnkey model lets MNOs sell “no dead zones” without capex sprawl.

The moat Europe is quietly building

1. Policy tailwinds. The EU’s IRIS² and EUCCS agendas normalise sovereign satcom and mission-critical interoperability. SatCo rides that wave with a commercial on-ramp.
2. Regulatory levers. A favourable outcome on 2 GHz MSS could give SatCo continent-scale spectrum symmetry that others lack, especially if paired with national low-band where appropriate.
3. Operational sovereignty. The command switch is more than marketing; it formalises European control over keys, beams and TT&C—reassuring for ministries and regulators that worry about extraterritorial leverage.

Execution risks to watch (and how we’ll know)

• Satellite cadence. Reuters cites a plan for ~60 satellites by 2026 and six already in orbit. Track launch manifests, in-orbit performance and yield; anything that slows Block-2 deployment degrades early coverage quality.
• MSS spectrum outcome. The Commission and national regulators are reviewing the 2 GHz MSS framework with current EU/UK licences expiring mid-2027. A clear path (or strong national work-arounds) is pivotal.
• Handset experience. As 3GPP Release-18 features land in real phones, watch for battery, latency and app-compatibility metrics. The Málaga lab is the bellwether for Europe-wide tuning.
• Public-safety adoption. Follow EUCCS pilots and PPDR procurement; these are sticky multi-year revenues and proof that “sovereign” isn’t just a tagline.

The investor read-through

If SatCo hits its 2026 commercial start, secures a clean spectrum story, and proves seamless roaming with national MNO cores, Europe will have a home-field D2D platform that complements IRIS² rather than waits for it. That combination—policy legitimacy, practical coverage, and an MNO-friendly wholesale model—could set pricing power and partnership norms across the continent.

For Vodafone, it’s a way to monetise coverage parity without more towers. For AST, it’s a defensible European profit pool and a reference architecture governments trust. For Europe, it’s sovereignty with service.