Lifting Off in Mozambique: World Mobile Collaborates With Vodacom

Mozambique isn’t waiting. Neither are we.

We’ve begun a live aerostat trial in partnership with Vodacom Mozambique. The aim is clear: explore new methods for delivering reliable mobile signal to remote areas that have remained offline for too long.

In November, we launched an aerostat trial with Vodacom Mozambique - one that could rewrite the rules for rural connectivity across Africa. This isn’t a lab test. This is live. Tethered high above the earth, our aerostat is now delivering mobile signal to areas that have waited too long for connection.

And it’s working.

We chose Mozambique for a reason. The digital divide here is stark. Over 60 percent of people still don’t have access to mobile internet. Traditional networks call it unprofitable. We call it unacceptable. Together with Vodacom, we’re showing what happens when two forces combine: their deep local knowledge and spectrum access, and our relentless drive to decentralize telecom.

This isn’t about balloons. It’s about power - reclaimed.

Each tethered balloon carries telecom equipment that once needed towers, trucks, and millions in sunk cost. Now, it lifts above terrain in hours, not years. That means fewer excuses. Fewer delays. And far more people getting connected by a network that grows with them, not over them.

Vodacom Mozambique have been instrumental in this project. They opened spectrum, shared insight, and backed the potential of a decentralized future. Their leadership helped make this trial real. That kind of collaboration breaks down barriers that Big Wireless spent decades building up.

This trial is already doing more than delivering signal. It’s delivering proof. Proof that new tech, new partnerships, and a new kind of network can lift people up - literally and figuratively.

We’ll be monitoring every metric. Reliability. Sustainability. Real-world performance. But we’re also watching what this means for local economies, schools, clinics, and homes. Because connection without purpose isn’t enough. We’re here to build something better.

The future of connectivity won’t come from another tower. It’ll rise from the people.

Reclaim power. Build with us.