Satellite provider AST SpaceMobile, together with UK operator Vodafone, has successfully conducted the world's first video call via satellite between 2 standard smartphones.

The call was made by a Vodafone employee who was out of range of the cellular network and was routed to the CEO of the company. The communication was achieved using a new cluster of 5 BlueBird satellites. Despite the slightly grainy video quality, the data was successfully transmitted in real time. However, the technical details of the test, such as internet connection speed, remain unknown for now.

Vodafone plans to start bringing its satellite broadband service to the European market later this year, following more tests. The company also claims that its satellites can provide data speeds of up to 120Mbps