One of the giants of the telecommunications business is making a new bet on wireless connectivity from low Earth orbit.‍

What’s happening:‍

• Vodafone has announced a new deal with AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) in which they will order one of their flagship Block 1 Bluebird satellites to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity to Vodafone users
  

Why it matters:‍

• This is one of the first major deals between a large telecommunications company and a publicly traded company focused on providing broadband connectivity from satellites in low Earth orbit
  
• The new deal will allow Vodafone to expand their connectivity into rural areas and remote parts of the world which currently have very little access to cellular connectivity of any kind
  

Going deeper:‍

• The deal between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile is set to take place over the next decade
  
• Vodafone has been an early backer of AST SpaceMobile, previously making a strategic investment in an earlier financing round alongside of Verizon and Bell Canada
  

The intrigue:‍

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has also been ramping up their investment into satellite networks, previously committing more than a billion dollars to Globalstar (NYSE: GSAT) for a new large scale commercial satellite constellation

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