MTN South Africa and satellite
communications provider Lynk Global have successfully completed Africa's first
direct satellite-to-mobile phone call. The historic test conducted in Vryburg,
North West province, represents a major leap forward in bridging the digital
divide across the continent's most remote regions.
The technical
trial demonstrated the viability of using low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites to
provide voice and SMS services to standard mobile phones without requiring any
device modifications. MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi described the
achievement as a potential game-changer for connecting underserved communities,
stating it could help the telecom giant reach its ambitious goal of 99%
broadband coverage across South Africa.
Lynk Global's
Chief Commercial Officer, Dan Dooley confirmed this marked the first successful
satellite-to-unmodified-mobile-phone call ever made on the African continent.
The companies selected Vryburg, a rural farming community with approximately
21,000 residents, as the test site following approval from communications
regulator ICASA to use MTN's licensed spectrum for the trial.
The
breakthrough leverages Lynk Global's constellation of LEO satellites orbiting
between 160-2,000 kilometers above Earth, which provide significantly lower
latency than traditional geostationary satellites. This technological advantage
enables real-time communication services comparable to ground-based cellular
networks, while the dramatically reduced costs of modern space launches – from
$85,000 per kilogram in the 1980s to about $1,000 today – make such solutions
increasingly viable.
Beyond basic
connectivity, the technology promises to revolutionize emergency communications
by enabling mass distribution of critical alerts for weather disasters, health
emergencies and humanitarian crises directly to mobile devices, even in areas
without cellular infrastructure.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
