Vodafone and Amazon team up to improve rural mobile connectivity in Europe and Africa

Vodafone and Amazon have teamed up to deliver improved mobile connectivity to those living in rural parts of Europe and Africa.

The British multinational telecoms firm will leverage the low-earth orbit satellite broadband network developed by Amazon Leo to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its 4G and 5G base station deployments in rural locations.

Traditionally, this process has involved putting fibre and fixed wireless links into the ground to travel between the base stations and the core network. But this can be expensive and time-consuming, especially in rural areas that are far away from the core network.

However, in recent years, companies like Amazon Leo and SpaceX’s Starlink have transformed how internet connectivity is delivered to people living in hard-to-reach areas by leveraging satellites and replacing the need for lengthy underground internet cable networks.

Amazon Leo offers thousands of satellites designed specifically to help telecoms firms such as Vodafone expand their services to unserved locations. These satellites can deliver download speeds of up to 1Gbps and upload speeds of 400 Mbps, respectively.

Margherita Della Valle, chief executive of Vodafone Group, said Amazon Leo’s network would allow the telecoms company to “strengthen resilience even in the most challenging environments”.

She added: “Amazon Leo’s new satellite constellation supports our ambition to give all Vodafone customers reliable and high-speed connectivity, wherever they are.”

Initially, Vodafone has agreed to use Amazon’s space-based broadband network to improve how its rural mobile base stations and core network infrastructure communicate with each other in Germany and other parts of Europe.

The second stage of this agreement will see Vodacom, the African subsidiary of Vodafone, increase its foothold in unserved parts of Africa with Amazon Leo’s network. Their first mobile sites are expected to go live over the next few months.

Beyond 2026, Vodafone and Amazon are planning to continue their partnership and deliver even more mobile sites as the Amazon Leo satellite network continues to grow. The constellation currently comprises over 3,000 satellites.

Panos Panay, senior vice president of Amazon Devices & Services, added: “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.”