AST SpaceMobile wants to cover the planet with satellite signals that supply ‘direct-to-cellphone’ connectivity. It already has one satellite in orbit (BlueWalker 3) but says its next craft will be “100 times more powerful” in terms of processing bandwidth. AST recently struck agreements with AT&T, Vodafone and Google and says it has terrestrial links with more than 40 telcos.

If it achieves that ambition, then AST might well be a very real challenger to Elon Musk’s Starlink as well as the Apple/Globalstar existing direct-to-phone service. AST says it is the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones.

On February 8th AST announced it had won a major contract from the US government. While the contract’s value was not disclosed, AST says: “We are thrilled to announce this initiative with the United States Government,” said Chris Ivory, CCO/Head of Government Business of AST SpaceMobile. “We believe our patented technology, leveraging our large phased array antenna technology in space, creates opportunities for new mission-critical capabilities in the government sector. We are creating new robust and resilient communications solutions while also facilitating new use cases.”

“This initial firm-fixed-priced contract, for an undisclosed amount, will be supported by the company’s BlueWalker 3 satellite in orbit today, as well as its next five commercial satellites. Revenue-generating contracts like this mark a significant milestone in AST SpaceMobile’s growth trajectory and highlight the versatile, dual-use capabilities of its technology,” says AST.

AST SpaceMobile is building its next five satellites, but ten of the bigger and better ‘BlueBird’ versions are the ones which will have a ten-fold improvement in throughput according to the firm’s official guidance for shareholders.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Project Kuiper seeks India licence
2. FAA suspends SpaceX launches
3. SpaceX vs AST SpaceMobile 
4. Eumetsat explains Ariane 6 cancellation
5. AST SpaceMobile examines emergency call obligations
6. AST SpaceMobile promises US commercial services
7. Starlink “transformative” in shipping
8. Rivada Networks funding explained
9. EU satellites disrupted by Russia

Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite, Satellite

Tags: AST SpaceMobile, BlueWalker, broadband, starlink