The German centre will allocate and map satellite connectivity to serve mobile networks across Europe.

Earlier this year, telecommunications giant Vodafone announced a joint venture called SatCo with AST SpaceMobile, a US company building a space-based cellular broadband network.

The Luxembourg-based venture SatCo is attempting to exclusively distribute direct-to-device satellite broadband services to European mobile network operators (MNO) via AST’s satellite constellation.

Building on their previous announcements, today (7 November), the two companies chose Germany as their main operations centre to launch the constellation. The exact location remains unconfirmed, but the final base will be near either Munich or Hannover, the companies said.

The German centre will work on allocating and mapping satellite connectivity used by SatCo to serve MNOs across Europe, enabling broadband accessibility in underserved regions while supporting emergency and disaster relief services, they explained.

The global mobile satellite services market is growing fast and is expected to be valued at more than $8.5bn by 2030. AST’s much larger rival Starlink has a fleet of more than 8,000 satellites, while AST has six, with plans to grow to 60 by next year.

Commercial operations for SatCo are planned to launch in 2026, with MNOs in 21 EU member states and other European countries already interested in SatCo’s services, according to Vodafone and AST.

The planned EU constellation is also set to include a comprehensive ‘command switch’ feature to support European oversight and security.

“SatCo delivers a sovereign satellite solution to the whole of Europe,” said Margherita Della Valle, the CEO of Vodafone.

“It will give European operators access to secure and resilient satellite communications, complementing existing terrestrial telecommunications networks.

“By establishing a satellite constellation in the EU and our principal command centre in Germany, we are ensuring the next frontier of communications infrastructure is firmly embedded in Europe.”

Abel Avellan, the founder, chair and CEO of AST SpaceMobile said: “Together with Vodafone, we are accelerating the arrival of true mobile broadband from space across Europe.”

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.