The Darwin connected delivery van on the road

A vehicle that remains continuously connected even when in remote areas is being road tested in Cornwall in the south west of the UK.

The test vehicle will use ubiquitous communications technology to switch seamlessly between 5G and satellite networks as required. The technology was developed by Darwin Innovation Group, in collaboration with mobile telephone operator Virgin Media O2, satellite operator Hispasat, cloud data company Amazon Web Services, the UK Space Agency and ESA.

Satellites can support connectivity in areas where mobile networks are not available, as broadband can be used almost anywhere with a clear line of sight to the sky. This makes it well suited to offer a good connection for the countryside, villages, parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty – places where the terrestrial network rollout is likely to take some time, or where restrictions exist on the construction of new masts.