MTN celebrates first-ever satellite-to-phone voice call in Africa
MTN South Africa CTO Rami Farah and Lynk Global Chief Commercial Officer Dan Dooley celebrating after hosting the first-ever satellite-to-phone voice call in Africa.
In a big victory for the future of telecommunication on the continent, MTN South Africa, in partnership with Lynk, has conducted the first-ever satellite-to-phone voice call in Africa.
MyBroadband was invited to attend this historic event and witness this impressive feat on 27 March 2025.
The event took place in the little town of Vryburg, North West, and was attended by several top MTN and Lynk executives, including MTN South Africa CTO Rami Farah and Lynk Global Chief Commercial Officer Dan Dooley.
“The beautiful thing about this trial is that using the satellite, you are able to connect large unreached areas, thereby eliminating the connectivity challenges that traditional terrestrial infrastructure faces,” said Farah.
“After this trial, and with the investment that will follow, we will be able to connect the unconnected, giving the facility to every South African to be able to connect, make calls, and send SMSs.”
Watch this incredible event unfold below.
Farah and Dooley hosting the first-ever satellite-to-phone voice call in Africa.
Satellite to phone
This was the first time that MTN network services have ever been provided from an LEO (low earth orbit) satellite provider to a normal cellular smartphone.
“What’s historic about today, is that this is on MTN phones, MTN spectrum, MTN South Africa SIM cards, and it was the first ever voice call between a satellite in orbit and an unmodified cell phone on Earth,” said Dooley.
Dooley during the first-ever satellite-to-phone voice call in Africa.
The test was conducted with a trial licence from ICASA, with a portion of the spectrum in the existing MTN assignment being carved out to allow for the test to be conducted without interfering with the existing GSM coverage in the area.
For the proof of concept, MTN had a window of under four minutes to test, as this was the duration of time that the Lynk satellite spent overhead.
This is due to the satellite travelling at over 27,000 kilometres per hour, approximately 500 kilometres above Earth in a lower orbit.
The satellite appeared on the horizon at precisely 13:56:54 and disappeared over the opposing horizon at 14:01:59.
The test commenced during this window at 13:59, with Farah and Dooley taking either end of the phone call on unmodified smartphones.
Lynk spectrum analyser used to scan MTN licenced spectrum during testing of the GSM satellite voice call.
After a successful 90-second phone call, SMS features were also tested, and we witnessed multiple texts being sent back and forth.
While this was only a proof of concept, MTN hopes to provide this service on a larger scale eventually.
MTN sent MyBroadband the first SMS via satellite in South Africa.
Who will benefit
Now that MTN and Lynk have proven the potential for this technology, further expansion of the service will be explored.
The key focus area for this technology will be terrestrial areas where it is difficult to install ground infrastructure, as it will provide these underserved areas with communication abilities.
It could also serve as a vital emergency communication solution during natural disasters and network outages, and can even provide mass notification capabilities with critical alerts – such as weather and humanitarian updates.
This is a giant leap forward for rural South Africa, where ground infrastructure is challenging to install or not economically viable.
Click here to learn more about MTN South Africa.
Farah and Zoltan Miklos – MTN’s General Manager for Network Planning – celebrating.
Image caption: MTN South Africa and Lynk Global teams celebrating.
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