AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone ink long-term connectivity deal
Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) climbed 8% following the announcement of a definitive long-term commercial agreement with Vodafone Group Plc (LSE: LON:VOD ). The partnership, set to extend through 2034, aims to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity directly to smartphones for commercial and government use.
The collaboration between the two companies is not new; Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD ) has been a significant investor in AST SpaceMobile since 2018 and has contributed to several technological milestones. These include the first space-based voice call to an unmodified smartphone in April 2023, the achievement of 4G download speeds above 10 Mbps in June 2023, and the inaugural 5G voice call in September 2023.
Under the agreement, Vodafone will integrate AST SpaceMobile's services into its home markets and offer connectivity solutions to other operators through its Partner Markets program. Vodafone has also placed an order for its first Block 1 BlueBird gateway, a key component in establishing AST SpaceMobile's global network infrastructure. This gateway will enable smartphones to connect directly to satellites in low Earth orbit, which will then relay data to Vodafone's terrestrial network infrastructure.
AST SpaceMobile's next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites are expected to significantly enhance network capabilities, offering up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity and supporting data transmission speeds up to 120 Mbps.
The strategic partnership is bolstered by additional investment from major industry players such as AT&T (NYSE:T ), Verizon (NYSE:VZ ), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL ), and Vodafone itself, as well as new contracts with the United States Government. AST SpaceMobile has existing agreements with over 45 mobile network operators worldwide, reaching approximately 2.8 billion subscribers.
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Source: Investing.com
