Vodafone to Use Amazon Leo Satellites for Mobile Backhaul in Europe and Africa

Mobile operator Vodafone has announced that they aren’t only working with AST SpaceMobile to improve mobile connectivity and have today also signed an agreement to harness Amazon Leo‘s (formerly Project Kuiper) satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), albeit only for mobile backhaul (i.e. linking 4G and 5G masts in Europe [inc. UK] and Africa to their core network).

The new Amazon service is currently still in its commercial beta phase and will start to launch properly through 2026. The service currently has approval to deploy and operate their own initial constellation of 3,236 LEO broadband satellites (altitudes of between 590km to 630km). A total of c.180 Kuiper satellites have already been placed into orbit (they need at least 500 for basic global coverage) and many more are due to follow over the next few years.

As for Vodafone, they’re currently working with Joint Venture (SatCo) partner AST Space Mobile to launch a space-based 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) service to connect with everyday Smartphones on the ground, which could potentially start to go live later in 2026. But today’s deal with Amazon Leo is more of a complement than a replacement to that.

The goal of the deal between Vodafone and Amazon Leo is to help connect many more 4G and 5G mobile sites (masts) in remote areas, which will improve coverage for customers with limited connectivity across Europe and Africa (i.e. mobile data backhaul for the terrestrial network).

With Amazon Leo, Vodafone will also be able to deploy new 4G and 5G base stations more easily and affordably in previously unserved areas, without the time and expense of installing long fibre-based or fixed wireless links back to the core network. Vodafone can similarly use the service to boost network resilience for emergency and critical online services if existing fibre links connecting mobile masts are broken or impacted by flooding.

The mobile operator appears set to harness Amazon Leo’s Ultra terminals for enterprise users, which offers high-speed cell site backhaul of up to 1Gbps download and 400Mbps upload. On the downside this does limit network capacity quite a bit, since optical fibre links can go many times faster when needed.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said:

“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.”

Panos Panay, Senior VP of Amazon Devices & Services, said:

“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 and expanding access to the digital services that power modern life.”

Under the new agreement, Vodafone will first start using Amazon Leo to connect geographically dispersed mobile base stations back to its core telecom networks in Germany and other European countries. We assume this will include the United Kingdom too, but we’re checking to confirm. Thereafter, Amazon Leo will be progressively rolled out across Africa through Vodacom.

The companies expect the first of these mobile sites to be connected in 2026 and to extend this service as Amazon Leo builds out its constellation. The move comes shortly after UK rival O2 (Virgin Media) became the country’s first mobile operator to launch satellite-based connectivity for regular Smartphones via O2 Satellite (here).

UPDATE 8:12am

Vodafone has confirmed that the UK (VodafoneThree) will also have the option to use the new service, if so needed.