The Federal Communications Fee has granted permission for AT&T and ASTSpaceMobile to check direct-to-cellular capabilities utilizing FirstNet and 800 MHz spectrum in Texas and Hawaii.
Based on a submitting with the FCC, ASTSpaceMobile and AT&T are planning to check uplink connections from as much as 20 industrial, off-the-shelf mobile GSM handsets to AST’s BlueWalker 3 LEO satellite tv for pc, utilizing 10-megahertz chunks of AT&T’s terrestrial spectrum.
The spectrum getting used would be the FirstNet spectrum from 788-798 MHz that AT&T has entry to, in each the realm of Hana, Hawaii and round Midland, Texas; plus AT&T’s 835-845 MHz in Texas and 825-835 MHz spectrum in Hawaii.
AST additionally has permission by way of Might of 2025 from AT&T to check utilizing higher-frequency spectrum at 37.6-40 GHz.
Based on AST SpaceMobile, the testing will permit it “proceed refining its [Supplemental Coverage from Space/SCS] Direct-to-System (D2D) expertise forward of its deliberate industrial launch.
“Because the Fee has acknowledged, D2D expertise has the potential to shut protection gaps in hard-to-reach areas and assist first responders in emergency and catastrophe response nationwide,” the satellite tv for pc firm famous. “AST SpaceMobile is actively working to assist obtain these objectives by optimizing the BW3 to tell the eventual graduation of its D2D companies.” ASTSpaceMobile additionally requested that some points of its experiments and the justification for them could be stored confidential by the FCC, as a result of aggressive nature of the market that it expects to serve.
In January, ASTSpaceMobile introduced that it had gained combination new financing of as much as $206.5 million from the investments of AT&T, Google and new capital from Vodafone, and that it deliberate to attract on an extra sum as much as $51.5 million from a credit score line. The investments encompassed $20 million in income commitments from AT&T which can be predicated on the profitable launch and operation of AST SpaceMobile’s first 5 industrial satellites, and a minimal $25 million in income commitments from Vodafone. Each carriers positioned buy orders in undisclosed quantities for AST SpaceMobile community gear that may assist deliberate industrial companies, the satellite tv for pc firm stated in a launch.
The Particular Non permanent Authority (STA) permission extends by way of October 4 of this yr. AST SpaceMobile introduced a variety of profitable exams with service companions up to now yr, together with with AT&T.