US telco giant AT&T has updated its customers on the impact that satellite operator AST SpaceMobile (AST) will make when its communication services go ‘live’. AT&T told customers: “We’re working with AST SpaceMobile to one day offer a full suite of connectivity: voice, data, text, and video services in remote, off-grid locations. Our customers will […]

AST SpaceMobile (AST), a would-be supplier of direct-to-consumer cellular telephony from space, has told the FCC that it will have 243 of its BlueBird satellites in orbit by the end of 2028. The schedule will see 100 working in orbit by the end of next year, then 72 additional craft each year until 2028. AST […]

US mobile providers such as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have been aggressively rolling out 5G home internet (also known as FWA, or fixed wireless access) over the past year. Penetration of the service has now reached 12 per cent, and more than half (56 per cent) of non-FWA subscribers are likely to consider the service […]

SNS Telecom & IT’s latest market research report predicts that service revenue associated with MCPTT and broadband PTT subscriptions over commercial mobile operator and critical communications broadband networks will surpass $12 billion by the end of 2028. MCPTT (Mission-Critical PTT) is an evolution of PoC or PTToC (PTT-Over-Cellular) technology aimed at meeting or exceeding the […]

AST SpaceMobile (AST) already has five of its BlueBird high-capacity broadband satellites in orbit, and has strong relationships with AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone each of which has stated that they want to start linking their existing cellular clients with AST. But AST needs far more satellites in orbit to provide a global service. The first […]

US telcos AT&T and Verizon have followed Vodafone in Europe by testing video calls using AST SpaceMobile’s orbiting satellites. Verizon and AST successfully trialed a live video call between two mobile devices with one connected via satellite and the other connected via Verizon’s terrestrial network connection, whilst AT&T and AST also successfully completed another video […]

Investment bank BNP Paribas hosted a low Earth orbiting ‘expert event’ with Dr Tim Farrar, an acknowledged expert on the satellite sector and Direct-to-Device (D2D) services in particular. Farrar argued that Elon Musk’s SpaceX/Starlink service, although embryonic today, are some “18 months ahead of competitors on D2D and that by the end of the year […]

Kathy Grillo, SVP, public policy & government affairs at US telco Verizon, speaking on reports that the US government wanted to access more C-band spectrum for terrestrial use, said Verizon welcomed the news. “We are now years past the last auction of mid-band spectrum and we are far from where we need to be as […]

STARZ has teamed up with Verizon to offer 12 months of STARZ included for eligible home internet customers in ths US. This offer is for new customers in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC markets who order Fios 1 Gig or 2 Gig Home Internet or for customers in the Atlanta market who order 5G Home […]

AST SpaceMobile has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted the company Special Temporary Authority (STA) authorising testing service in the US. This approval enables AST SpaceMobile’s first five commercial BlueBird satellites, operating in low Earth orbit today, with unmodified smartphones in AT&T and Verizon premium low-band wireless spectrum supporting voice, full data, […]