- VodafoneThree is the newest provider given permission to make use of satellite tv for pc tech to cowl not-spots
- O2 already granted permission, EE to work with Starlink
- Handset guidelines want updating in addition to operator licenses
Ofcom has confirmed it has accredited a request from VodafoneThree to amend one of many spectrum licenses it holds, which might imply it will possibly present ‘direct-to-device’ satellite tv for pc connectivity to cellphones.
The recently-merged firms would have the ability to present calls, texts and knowledge to plain smartphones within the UK, making it rather more akin to common cell service fairly than Apple‘s satellite-based SOS options.
Satellite tv for pc connectivity would play an necessary function in plugging gaps in right now’s present infrastructure, offering sign the place there is no such thing as a sign.
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VodafoneThree granted approval to make use of satellites
VodafoneThree is not the one firm to have been granted such permission – O2 was additionally given the inexperienced mild earlier in 2026.
“By launching O2 Satellite tv for pc, we have grow to be the primary operator in Europe to launch a space-based cell knowledge service that, in a single day, has introduced new cell protection to an space round two-thirds the dimensions of Wales for the primary time,” VMO2 CEO Lutz Schuler boasted, when the corporate launched satellite tv for pc connections for some early supported Samsung units.
Nonetheless, there could possibly be extra at play earlier than satellite tv for pc connectivity turns into commonplace. Ofcom stated that, whereas granting operator licenses is one half that it is completed twice this yr, it additionally must amend its handset rules following public session over the subsequent month.
Within the US, T-Cellular has already launched a satellite-to-cell service for an extra $10 month-to-month charge.
As for the UK’s solely different essential provider, EE introduced a partnership with Starling in late 2025 to sort out so-called ‘not-spots’ throughout the UK as quickly because the second half of 2026.
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