Vodafone Partners With Amazon Leo to Expand 4G and 5G Connectivity
In Focus
- The two companies agreed to boost mobile connections in Europe and Africa
- Amazon Leo offers 1Gbps in download speeds and 400 Mbps in upload speeds
- The partnership enables Vodafone to avoid fixed wireless installations
U.K.’s telco giant, Vodafone has signed an agreement with Amazon Leo to connect 4G and 5G mobile sites in rural areas. According to Reuters, the Vodafone-Amazon partnership will enable the British mobile company to improve coverage for populations with limited connectivity across Africa and Europe.
Providing Coverage in Hard-to-Reach Areas
With thousands of low Earth orbiting constellations, the Leo satellite telecom infrastructure will enable Vodafone to provide satellite-powered mobile coverage in hard-to-reach areas. Under the Amazon Leo connectivity deal, Vodafone will deploy 4G and 5G stations in unserved regions in an affordable way.
“Vodafone is looking to space to connect more mobile base stations to our core network, and strengthen resilience even in the most challenging environments. Amazon Leo’s new satellite constellation supports our ambition to give all Vodafone customers reliable and high-speed connectivity, wherever they are,” Vodafone Group Chief Executive, Margherita Della Valle said.
Amazon Leo, which prioritizes enterprise connectivity, helps telecom operators to quickly scale and strengthen their infrastructure using advanced satellite connectivity. Its service delivers high-capacity cell site backhaul, supporting download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds reaching 400 Mbps.
The British telecom will start by connecting geographically dispersed mobile base stations to its core telecom networks in Germany and other European countries.
A Cost-Cutting Measure for Vodafone
With the Vodafone-Amazon Leo connectivity deal, the mobile communication firm will avoid costs related to the installation of fixed wireless or fiber-based connections in hard-to-reach areas.
Additionally, the British communication firm will use Amazon Leo’s service to strengthen its network’s resilience in the provision of emergency and critical online services. The company considers this critical in restoring connectivity in case of interruptions resulting from broken fibre links due to flooding and other calamities.
“Connectivity shouldn’t depend on where you live. With Amazon Leo, we’re helping bring fast, reliable broadband to places traditional infrastructure can’t easily reach, from rural communities to critical emergency networks. Partnering with Vodafone and Vodacom is an important step toward connecting millions more people across Europe and Africa.” Amazon’s Senior VP for Devices and Services, Panos Panay stated.
Vodafone’s Roll-out Plan for Africa
Afterwards, Vodafone will progressively roll-out satellite connectivity across Africa. The two companies expect the first of these mobile sites to be connected in 2026. Vodafone will continue expanding the 5G network using Amazon satellites as the company expands its Leo constellations in space.
“At Vodacom, we are working every day to bring more people in Africa online and in reach of vital digital services. Partnering with Amazon Leo enables us to swiftly deploy mobile connectivity in isolated areas, allowing us to efficiently expand our reach to more customers throughout the African continent,” Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub noted.
Last month, Amazon secured FCC approval to deploy an additional 4,500 satellites to orbit by 2035. Already, the company has 3,232 operational Gen 1 satellites. With the latest approval, Amazon is set to expand its low Earth orbit satellites to 7,736.
