The new Donald Trump administration, and a new chair at the FCC (Brendon Carr), is increasingly expected to permit operators such as Starlink and AST SpaceMobile to begin transmitting and receiving calls direct-to-devices and including consumer smartphones. As Armand Musey (partner at consultancy Summit Ridge Group) suggested during the recent 13th Americas Spectrum Management Conference […]

An update from AST SpaceMobile (AST) on November 14th supplied many hard facts as to the satellite operator’s plans. New satellite launches, added to the five already in orbit, will potentially eliminate the planet’s ‘dead spots’ for cellular users. Subsequently, a major bank report has endorsed AST’s prospects as the world’s first global cellular network. […]

AST SpaceMobile (AST) has contracted with Jeff Bezos-backed rocket company Blue Origin, as well as SpaceX, to get its satellites into orbit. Blue Origin will handle up to 45 satellites with options for a further 15. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket can handle 8 satellites per launch. SpaceX, which with its Starlink broadband system, is […]

Equity investment analyst Andres Coello from Scotiabank has issued an update for satellite operator AST SpaceMobile (AST) now that AST has successfully unfurled its five solar arrays. The bank’s view states: “Impressive execution should unlock cheaper credit and accelerate prepayments.” The bank was impressed and stated that the 23-day period from launch to unfurling the […]

AST SpaceMobile has confirmed that each of their five BlueBird satellites launched by SpaceX in September have successfully unfurled their massive solar and transmission arrays. Each satellite carries 64 sq metres of array. AST is building follow-on satellites which are even larger in size and has ambitions to become a global connectivity supplier of satellite-to-cellular […]

Mexico’s América Móvil is the seventh-largest mobile telco in the world in terms of subscribers with activity in Colombia, Peru, Eastern Europe, and Argentina. At its Q3 results statement on October 17th it said it is also exploring partnerships for satellite connectivity, including agreements with Starlink and AST SpaceMobile, to enhance service in rural areas. […]

The global satellite IoT communications market is growing at a good steady pace according to a research report from specialist IoT analyst firm Berg Insight. The global satellite IoT subscriber base grew to surpass 5.1 million in 2023. The number of satellite IoT subscribers is predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) […]

The overwhelming message from last week’s Paris World Satellite Business Week was that of uncertainty over future demand. The sentiment was most pronounced in the Direct-2-Consumer (D2C) panel, where the operators talked of their plans and ambitions, but which were also tempered by anxieties of ‘if we build it will they come’. Scott Wisniewski, president […]

September 12th saw a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flawlessly launch five high-performance BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile from Cape Canaveral. The five craft, once they are deployed safely in their correct orbits which itself will take a few weeks, will then be tested by about 2,000 testers scattered around the Earth and then commence beta-test […]

AT&T’s CEO John Stankey has praised AST SpaceMobile in an interview on CNBC, saying: “Satellite constellations are going to be great. People are going to have always on connectivity, there will be no more [dead spaces] and this is why we are doing what we are doing with AST which will make sure that your […]