Vodafone has signed a deal with Amazon Leo to connect 4G and 5G mobile masts in remote parts of Europe and Africa using low Earth orbit satellites.
The agreement will allow the mobile operator to link base stations to its core network without laying fibre in difficult terrain.
Instead, it will use satellite backhaul to provide speeds of up to 1 Gbps for download and 400 Mbps for upload.
Vodafone announced the partnership at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The company said it will begin connecting sites in Germany and other European countries this year. After that, it will extend the service across Africa through its subsidiary Vodacom.
The first African rollouts are expected in 2026 as Amazon Leo expands its satellite network.
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, already has more than 200 satellites in orbit. The company recently launched 32 additional satellites in February 2026.
It also secured approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to deploy 4,500 more satellites, bringing its planned constellation to 7,700.
That scale places Amazon in direct competition with SpaceX’s Starlink, which has over 9,000 satellites in orbit and around 9 million subscribers worldwide.
Rural masts usually sit far from fibre routes and running cables across forests, mountains or flood-prone areas is expensive and slow. Satellite links can be installed faster and at lower cost. They also provide backup if fibre lines are cut or damaged by flooding.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone group chief executive, 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 vice president 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.”
Shameel Joosub, chief executive of Vodacom Group, said: “At Vodacom, we are working every day to bring more people in Africa online and in reach of vital digital services. Partnering with Amazon Leo enables us to swiftly deploy mobile connectivity in isolated areas, allowing us to efficiently expand our reach to more customers throughout the African continent.”
Vodafone says the partnership with Amazon Leo will also support the expansion of advanced 5G services in Europe. In Africa, Vodacom links the project to its Vision 2030 targets.
The group aims to reach 260 million customers, grow its financial services business and raise smartphone penetration to 75% by 2030.
Separately, Vodafone is working with AST SpaceMobile on direct satellite-to-smartphone services. The company has not yet announced a launch date for that offering.
