Berlin: The moon will have its first 4G cell phone network in 2019, the network builder Vadafone has said.

The German branch of the multinational telecommunication company has teamed up with Nokia to do the mission, London-headquartered Vadafone said in a statement on Tuesday.

The network is to support a private lunar rover mission by PTScientists, a private space company based in Berlin, which plans to launch a lander and two small rovers to the moon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PTScientists said their team is committed to bringing down the cost of space exploration and democratising access to the moon.

The moon rover plan aims to study the lunar rover used by the Apollo astronauts during their historic landing in December 1972.

Nokia will create a space-grade Ultra Compact Network that is said to be the lightest ever developed - weighing around one kg, the same as a bag of sugar, according to the statement.

The planned network will enable PTScientists' lander to broadcast a live video from lunar surface to the audience on earth and facilitate the communication among the lander and rovers.

Under previous communication technologies used in moon exploration, such as analogue radio, transmitting data consumes considerable energy reserves and requires rovers to be stationary.

"The great thing about this... is that it saves so much power, and the less energy we use sending data, the more we have to do science!" said Robert Bohme, CEO and Founder of PTScientists.

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Mumbai, Jul 25 (PTI): Police have opposed the bail plea of the Bangladeshi national arrested for allegedly stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan with a knife and injuring him at his home here in January this year, telling a Mumbai court there was "strong evidence" against the accused.

Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory report, police reiterated before the sessions court their earlier claim knife fragments that got lodged near the actor's spine during the attack as well as a part found at the crime spot have matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Shariful Islam.

These three pieces were part of the same weapon (knife) used to attack the filmstar, the police said in a written response to the accused's plea submitted in the court on Thursday (July 24).

Khan was repeatedly stabbed with a knife by an intruder inside his 12th floor apartment in upscale Bandra on January 16 during a robbery attempt.

The 54-year-old actor underwent surgery at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife that got lodged near his spine during the attack. He was discharged from the private hospital after five days.

Shariful Islam, a Bangladeshi national, was arrested two days later for allegedly stabbing Khan.

The police, in their response, highlighted that the accused is a Bangladeshi citizen residing illegally in India.

If granted bail, there was a possibility that he may flee India and not appear before the court during the trial. The crime committed by the accused is of a "very serious nature, and strong evidence" is available against him, they argued.

In his bail plea, filed through advocate Vipul Dushing, the accused asserted he was innocent and had no prior criminal record.

Investigation into the case has practically concluded with only the filing of a chargesheet pending, the accused contended while seeking bail.

The alleged attacker has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to house trespass, robbery and dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous injury.