AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) has achieved repeated successful download speeds above 10 Mbps to standard smartphones, while testing the BlueWalker 3 satellite, while conducting download speed tests in Hawaii in June. The 4G LTE download speed testing used AT&T spectrum and Nokia RAN technology, reaching initial speeds up to 10.3 Mbps, in addition to testing of voice calls to AT&T employees. Evaluation of BlueWalker 3’s capabilities will continue using 5G cellular broadband.
“AST SpaceMobile’s space-based cellular capabilities are designed to be a critical extension for cellular communications. In addition to supporting basic voice and text that we expect from phones, it would also enable users to browse the internet, download files, use messaging apps or stream video,” said Abel Avellan, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.
AST SpaceMobile technology is designed to expand coverage for wireless companies, filling in gaps in their networks. The company has agreements and understandings with more than 35 mobile network operators globally that have approximately 2 billion existing subscribers, including Vodafone Group, Rakuten Mobile, AT&T, and Bell Canada.
The data speed testing is the latest AST SpaceMobile milestone. In April, the company completed the first space-based voice call using a standard smartphone. The BlueWalker 3 test satellite was successfully launched last September from Cape Canaveral, FL. Subsequently, it unfurled the largest-ever commercial communications antenna array deployed in low-Earth orbit, spanning 693 square feet in size.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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