AST SpaceMobile signs commercial deal with Verizon for space-based service

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) signed a definitive commercial agreement with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) to provide direct-to-cellular satellite service to Verizon customers starting in 2026.

The agreement builds on a strategic partnership announced in May 2024. AST SpaceMobile will provide space-based cellular broadband coverage across the continental United States using Verizon's 850 MHz spectrum and AST's satellite network in low Earth orbit.

The service is designed to connect directly to standard smartphones without requiring specialized equipment. AST SpaceMobile's network operates across premium low-band spectrum, the company's licensed L-band and S-band spectrum, and up to 1,150 MHz of mobile network operator partners' spectrum globally.

The companies completed testing that demonstrated voice and video calls and two-way messaging between unmodified smartphones and AST's BlueBird satellite. A Voice over LTE call was made from a Verizon smartphone in Texas through an AST satellite to another Verizon phone in New Jersey.

"Through our definitive commercial agreement with Verizon, we are working to deliver space-based cellular broadband coverage from space across the continental United States," said Abel Avellan, founder, chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.

Srini Kalapala, senior vice president of technology and product development at Verizon, said the partnership represents "a good step forward in our mission to build a seamlessly connected world."

AST SpaceMobile is developing what it describes as a global cellular broadband network in space designed to work with standard mobile devices. The company's satellites feature communication arrays that the company says are the largest ever deployed in low Earth orbit for commercial use.

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