AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone Announce Definitive Commercial Agreement Through 2034

(Midland, Texas) Space technology and satellite company AST Spacemobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) and Vodafone Group Plc (LSE: VOD) announced this morning that they have entered into a definitive long-term commercial agreement through 2034, moving forward with their collaboration to expand broadband connectivity globally.

Photo courtesy of AST SpaceMobile.

Per today’s press release from AST and Vodafone, the agreement establishes the framework for Vodafone to offer space-based cellular broadband connectivity in its home markets, as well as to other operators via its Partner Markets program.

Specifically, Vodafone placed an order for its first Block 1 BlueBird gateway, “marking a milestone int he deployment of AST SpaceMobile’s global infrastructure,” per the press release.

Users outside traditional cellular coverage will be able to connect their everyday smartphones directly to AST SpaceMobile’s satellites in low Earth orbit, which in turn will route the data to the gateway. These gateways will then connect to Vodafone’s existing network infrastructure to route the broadband data to users’ devices, as well as to access third-party Apps and the Internet, according to AST and Vodafone.

The next-generation Block 2 BlueBirds featuring up to 2,400 square foot communications arrays, are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird satellites in orbit today, enabling peak data transmission speeds up to 120 Mbps, supporting voice, full data, and video applications, per AST and Vodafone.

Since 2018, Vodafone has been a three-time investor in AST SpaceMobile and is a key technology in AST’s development, including several world’s firsts in direct-to-device connectivity with everyday smartphones that confirmed 2G, 4G and 5G capabilities.

Key recent milestones, per AST and Vodafone:

• In April 2023, AST SpaceMobile and its partners completed the first-ever space-based voice call to an unmodified phone. 
• That was followed by the first-ever 4G download speed above 10 Mbps in June 2023 and the first-ever 5G voice call in September 2023.
• Ultimately, the company and its partners have demonstrated over 20 mbps download speeds to unmodified phones on a 5 Mhz channel.

As of the time of publication of this article, shares of ASTS are up 9.48% pre-market.

** Not investment advice; The FLY Report is not a registered investment advisor.