AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is a Texas-based company building a space-based cellular broadband network designed to be accessible directly by mobile phones. Its planned network, called SpaceMobile, aims to deliver 4G/5G connectivity everywhere on the planet – on land, at sea and in flight. Mobile subscribers would be able to automatically roam from land networks to the space-based network, no matter their location, according to ZDNet.
AST SpaceMobile says it’s received an experimental license from the FCC supporting its U.S.-based testing of the BlueWalker 3 satellite. The license covers BlueWalker 3 space-to-ground testing using 3GPP low-band cellular frequencies and Q/V-band frequencies, subject to certain restrictions.
The test satellite is due to be launched this summer. “We appreciate the diligent support of the FCC in providing the experimental license for our upcoming satellite launch,” says AST SpaceMobile Founder/Chairman/CEO Abel Avellan in a press release. “Together with other testing around the world, this license will enable us to conduct some of our most important testing here, at home, in the United States.”
Partners in this effort are global wireless infrastructure companies, including Rakuten Mobile, Vodafone and American Tower. AST SpaceMobile continues to pursue additional authorizations with the FCC related to its planned constellation of BlueBird satellites.
The company says its mission is to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers moving in and out of coverage zones, and bring cellular broadband to approximately half of the world’s population who remain unconnected.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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