Moon to get its own mobile phone network next year

The mobile phone network will enable high-definition streaming from the lunar surface back to earth.(NASA)

Vodafone Germany, Nokia and Audi are working on this project together.

The moon will get its first mobile phone network next year, enabling high-definition streaming from the lunar landscape back to earth, part of a project to back the first privately funded moon mission.

Vodafone Germany, network equipment maker Nokia and carmaker Audi said on Tuesday they were working together to support the mission, 50 years after the first NASA astronauts walked on the moon.

Vodafone said it had appointed Nokia as its technology partner to develop a space-grade network which would be a small piece of hardware weighing less than a bag of sugar.

The companies are working with Berlin-based company PTScientists on the project, with a launch scheduled in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Vodafone said.


“This project involves a radically innovative approach to the development of mobile network infrastructure,” Vodafone Germany Chief Executive Hannes Ametsreiter said.

One executive involved said the decision to build a 4G network rather a state-of-the-art 5G network was taken because the next generation networks remain in the testing and trial stage and are not stable enough to ensure they would work from the lunar surface.

Apple may offer rebate to users who bought full-price batteries

After a US senator asked Apple questions about its controversial decision to quietly slow the performance of older iPhones, the Cupertino-headquartered company replied that it may offer rebates to users who paid full price for a battery replacement.

"Apple told a US senator it is 'exploring' whether to offer a rebate to customers who paid full-price for a battery replacement," CNET reported late on Tuesday.

Senator John Thune, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, had sent a letter to Apple with several follow-up questions, including whether customers who purchased batteries at full-price might be compensated.

"The company has also promised the committee some follow-up information, including an answer about additional steps it may take to address customers who purchased a new battery at full price," Thune was quoted as saying by CNET.

Apple faced a backlash after it admitted last month that it used software updates to limit the performance of older iPhone models, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone SE and iPhone 7.

The tech giant used software updates to slow down the performance of some iPhones, a decision the company defended by saying it prevented devices from erratically shutting down.

The goal, according to the company, was to "smooth out" peak power demands and prevent older iPhones from sudden shutdowns as their lithium-ion batteries degrade. But it resulted in a disappointing performance for users, according to CNN.