Vodafone Group and AST SpaceMobile outlined plans to form a Europe-led satellite constellation for its joint venture SatCo, which will include a “command switch” feature to support sovereignty, oversight and security in the continent.

As part of the plans, the duo have selected Germany as the location for a main Satellite Operations Centre, located near either Munich or Hannover depending on final negotiations.

The centre will be used to allocate and map satellite connectivity used by SatCo to serve operators across Europe.

In addition to commercial mobile broadband services, the planned EU constellation will support public protection and disaster relief efforts through providing connectivity from space to smartphones and other devices, “even in the most dangerous and challenging environments”.

A filing has been made with the ITU through Germany to register a new mid-band satellite constellation.

The command switch feature is designed to support all telemetry, tracking and control encryption keys for S-band, which is used to connect smartphones from space. It will also aid the Q/V band that can provide links between satellite and earth stations.

The feature allows for the modification of service encryption keys for communications across the continent and manages the activation, deactivation and direction of satellite beams in Europe.

Embedded in Europe
Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile unveiled the SatCo joint venture at MWC Barcelona 2025, a jointly owned satellite business to serve MNOs in Europe.

In June, it fleshed out plans to roll out commercial services in 2026, with operators in 21 European Member states showing interest in the proposition.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said by establishing a satellite constellation in the EU and a command centre in Germany, “we are ensuring the next frontier of communications infrastructure is firmly embedded in Europe”.