Fly a real drone from the metaverse over Vodafone's 5G network at Mobile World Congress 2023 Barcelona

Vodafone Stand (Hall 3, stand 3E11) Mobile World Congress (MWC), 27 February - 2 March 2023.

Vodafone invites visitors to its stand at MWC 2023 to enter Vodafone’s metaverse and fly a real-life 5G-connected drone located in Seville 830 kilometres away using a Meta Quest Pro Virtual Reality (VR) headset.

The metaverse drone is one of a series of new network Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) being developed by Vodafone. Network APIs are a set of rules based on industry-wide open standards that allow developers to plug into and use the low-latency benefits, speed and scale of Vodafone’s pan-European 5G network – which covers nearly 350 towns and cities – through a simple and secure user interface.

Built by Vodafone’s developers, the metaverse API could be used by emergency services to control drones out of sight to deliver vital medical supplies in a congested area. Other uses include farmers being able to inspect vast perimeter fences or energy companies safely checking remote power lines. Vodafone’s 5G network will deliver a range of metaverse services to its consumer and business customers such as AR/XR services for gaming and entertainment, navigation, remote assistance and maintenance, and immersive shopping.

In addition, Vodafone is providing third-party developers with a secure and simple way to create their own significant new services through APIs that gives them access to the enhanced capabilities of Vodafone’s network. The focal point for these APIs will be Vodafone’s new Developer Marketplace https://developer.vodafone.com, which today opened for developers to register for news on new APIs releases, expected later this year.

Vodafone Developer Marketplace will include Vodafone-own services such as broadband boosts, online banking fraud detection and prolonged smartphone battery life, as well as those that remove all complexity of the network to allow third party developers to create their own revenue-generating applications more easily and cheaply. Vodafone expects the marketplace will spur the release of many new apps with social or environmental purposes, for example, those that use anonymised and aggregated network location data to improve public transport links.

Note to Editors

Creating a more sustainable future through tech innovation and leading digital business products and services is the central theme for Vodafone at MWC. Its stand is arranged into five zones – Greener Together, Greener Foundations, Greener Today and Tomorrow and Core.

Greener Together – with emphasis on strategic partnerships, Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile will show how together they intend to offer the first ever space-based mobile broadband service accessible by standard smartphones. No other satellite service today does this. It will also give visitors a chance to sit at the wheel of an Extreme E electric SUV used to race in some of the remotest parts of the world – all connected via the latest Vodafone technology.

Greener Foundations – a dashboard will highlight Vodafone’s journey to net zero by 2040, including initiatives by Vodafone Business, such as renewable power purchase agreements and solar energy in the company’s offices and mobile cell towers. Also, drawing on its global Internet of Things (IoT) platform – with 155 million connections – Vodafone is exhibiting the latest connected applications giving communities early warning of forest fires and floods, as well as providing real-time air quality measurements.

Greener Today – Vodafone is showcasing two of its newest, globally-scaled platforms. The Safer Transport for Europe Platform (STEP) is a cloud-based platform designed to improve road safety in Europe by enabling data sharing among governments, transport authorities, vehicle manufacturers, and mobility service providers. Alongside it will be one of Vodafone’s Digital Asset Broker (DAB) solutions which enables electric vehicle (EV) drivers to charge their vehicles using a single app on their mobile device.

Visitors can also see how satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to assess the health and inventory of urban trees to improve the management of urban green spaces and their conservation.

Greener Tomorrow – Among the services on view is network slicing. A key feature of 5G Standalone (5GSA) networks, it allows Vodafone to create multiple virtual networks, or ‘slices’, on the same infrastructure. Some examples of applications that would benefit from network slicing include remote surgery, AR/VR, enhanced event experiences, cloud gaming, smart cities, and Industry 4.0 applications.

Core – MWC would not be complete without an update on new Open Radio Area Networks (Open RAN). Vodafone plans to unveil the essential progress being made in improving the maturity, security, and energy efficiency of Open RAN. Building on Vodafone’s existing urban deployment in the UK (a European first), this includes further preparing Open RAN for wider deployment in highly populated towns and cities, strengthening cooperation with national authorities on security, and enhancing the energy efficiency of all components.

Vodafone’s 5G network is a powerful tool that can support, enhance and enable business and consumer innovations. At the forefront of this innovation is the world’s first prototype 5G network built on a Raspberry Pi, showcasing at MWC, which could give customers their very own low-cost, private, and fast mobile broadband network (see separate release).

For more information, please contact:

Investor Relations
Investors.vodafone.com
ir@vodafone.co.uk

Media Relations
Vodafone.com/news/contact-us
GroupMedia@vodafone.com

Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN, England. Registered in England No. 1833679

About Vodafone

Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services.

Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 47 more. As of 31 December 2022, we had over 330 million mobile customers, more than 28 million fixed broadband customers, and 21 million TV customers. Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting over 155 million devices and platforms.

We have revolutionised fintech in Africa through M-Pesa, which celebrated its 15^th anniversary in 2022. It is the region’s largest fintech platform, providing access to financial services for more than 58 million people in a secure, affordable and convenient way.

Our purpose is to connect for a better future by using technology to improve lives, digitalise critical sectors and enable inclusive and sustainable digital societies.

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to reach net zero emissions across our full value chain by 2040, while helping our customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 350 million tonnes by 2030. We are driving action to reduce device waste and achieve our target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of our network waste.

We believe in the power of connectivity and digital services to improve society and economies, partnering with governments to digitalise healthcare, education and agriculture and create cleaner, safer cities. Our products and services support the digitalisation of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Our inclusion for all strategy seeks to ensure no-one is left behind through access to connectivity, digital skills and creating relevant products and services such as access to education, healthcare and finance. We are also committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the customers and societies we serve.

For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.