AST SpaceMobile plans to launch “initial, intermittent coverage” to five countries before the end of the year, including the U.S.
Impact: Like Amazon Leo, AST SpaceMobile has a long way to go before it catches up to SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile on direct-to-device satellite connectivity. But the company has a different system planned than that of either Amazon Leo or SpaceX, in part because its low-Earth orbit Bluebird satellites are huge (2,400 square feet, reportedly the largest ever sent into low-Earth orbit) and will deliver mobile broadband service rather than the texting and light data services currently including with D2D offerings. Earlier this year, the company received approval to launch 248 of its satellites into low-Earth orbit using spectrum signed over to it from its network operator partners. According to LightReading, the AST system involves 60 ground gateways worldwide, with those 60 in varying stages of deployment, installation, or planning. But AST hasn’t revealed how many currently sit in each stage of the process. Details from Telecompetitor highlight the critical nature of that ground network, which connects AST’s satellite constellation to its network partners’ core networks to carry traffic between space and terrestrial infrastructure. The company also has signed partnerships with 60 mobile network operators, which is where AT&T (as well as FirstNet) and Verizon come in. Both carriers signed on with AST to add D2D connectivity to their mobile offerings several years ago and have been waiting through a series of delays and setbacks to connect to its constellation while T-Mobile has had T-
Satellite up and running for more than a year through its exclusive multi-year partnership with SpaceX for Starlink. AST reportedly plans to access 100 MHz of terrestrial spectrum from AT&T and Verizon combined with another 45 MHz of mobile satellite services spectrum.
Now, AST has made enough progress on “advancing service readiness” that it’s prepared to launch at least some D2D service across the contiguous U.S., Canada, Japan, Saudia Arabia, and the UK before the year ends. The company said that initial service in the U.S. would extend across the country using 5,600 coverage cells – 3,000 of which have already been enabled – that put it on a path toward a full nationwide rollout. But the service won’t be available all the time and could be limited in some areas depending on when satellites are overhead. AST has just 13 Bluebird satellites in orbit after launch delays and other problems, such as when Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket placed one of its satellites into the wrong orbit, making it useless. A New Glenn rocket explosion in May also had repercussions, making satellite launch capacity even more limited than it had been. On the spectrum side, AST reportedly had interest in the 800 MHz spectrum licenses T-Mobile traded to Grain Management earlier this year and that Grain just sold to SpaceX for $8 billion, going so far as to test the spectrum to see how it could be integrated into its constellation. Not getting its hands on those licenses could be viewed as another AST setback because it will make it that much harder for the company to catch up to SpaceX. The company previously said it would need 25 satellites in orbit for intermittent coverage in the U.S. and between 45 and 60 satellites in orbit to offer full nationwide coverage across the U.S. In July, AST planned to have 45 satellites in orbit by early 2027, but that timing only gives it a few months to add more than 30 additional satellites into its constellation. At this point, AST has to be feeling the pressure from both its partners and competitors to get something launched and needs its initial rollout, even with only intermittent service, to happen as soon as possible or risk losing its chance of succeeding as a D2D satellite provider.
