Satellite telecoms provider Lynk Global has paired with Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Kiribati Limited (Vodafone Kiribati) to provide satellite direct-to-mobile phone services in the country.

The partnership is tipped to expand network coverage in the island country, which is one of the most remote locations in the world.

Kiribati is an island country in Micronesia in the central Pacific Ocean, with a population of around 131,000.

The introduction of satellite mobile connectivity adds to Vodafone's existing 3G and 4G coverage on the island. Vodafone has deployed 3G and 4G towers on the island.

Lynk, which has dubbed its satellite direct-to-mobile service as "cell towers in space," said it will connect "all corners of Kiribati," with its coverage.

At present, Lynk provides cell broadcast (emergency) alerts and two-way SMS messaging. The company said it will launch voice and mobile broadband services in the future.

Lynk has signed commercial agreements with more than 40 MNOs covering more than 50 countries, including Spark in New Zealand, Vodafone Ghana, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Telecel’s Centrafrique in the Central African Republic, and Rogers in Canada.

During last year's Mobile World Congress event held in Barcelona, Spain, Lynk chief commercial officer Dan Dooley told DCD that satellites are crucial for telecoms connectivity.

"There's about 78 percent of the physical globe, including oceans, that doesn't have connectivity and it's an economic problem. It just doesn't make sense to put a physical capex-intensive and opex-intensive cell tower in a place that has few people," said Dooley in March 2023. "There are places in the world that are economically better covered from space."