AST SpaceMobile hits launch button on satellite expansion

AST SpaceMobile has unveiled aggressive plans to expand its space-based communication portfolio, confirming a fully-funded plan to send 45 to 60 satellites into orbit by 2026 to support continuous service in the US, Europe, Japan and other strategic markets, including the US Government.

AST SpaceMobile said it is on a mission to build the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones for commercial and government applications.

This comes just over two years since AST and its partners completed what was claimed at the time to be the first-ever space-based voice call to an unmodified phone, in April 2023. The company claimed another landmark with the initial 4G download above 10Mbps in June 2023, and then the first-ever 5G voice call in September 2023.

In May 2024, it announced a strategic partnership with Verizon, with a commitment of $100m to target 100% coverage of the continental US on premium 850MHz spectrum, with two major US mobile operators to provide direct-to-cellular connectivity.

In January 2025, AST SpaceMobile and comms provider Vodafone Group revealed they had completed the first-ever space-based video call using 4G/5G smartphones over a satellite built to offer a full mobile broadband experience from an area in Wales with no terrestrial mobile coverage.

The company currently has six satellites in orbit – five fully operational and one test satellite – for both commercial and government applications.

In its business update and results for the second quarter to 30 June 2025, the company posted revenues of $1.16bn for the three-month period, up 28% year-on-year. Half-year revenues were $1.874bn, rising by 34% compared with the first six months of the previous financial year. As expected for an expanding business, operating expenses grew on an annual basis in both the quarter (up 18% to $73.95m) and the half year (up 15% to $137.63m.

In terms of highlights for the second quarter, the company noted that it has completed the assembly of microns for phased arrays of eight Block 2 BlueBird satellites and is on target to complete 40 satellites equivalent of microns by early 2026 to support full voice, data and video space-based cellular broadband services.

Furthermore, it has planned orbital launches every one to two months on average in 2025 and 2026, with the goal being to launch 45 to 60 satellites in that time. The company’s FM1 satellite is expected to be ready to ship in August 2025, with a mutually determined launch date thereafter, becoming AST SpaceMobile’s seventh satellite in orbit.

The update also revealed that it is preparing to deploy nationwide intermittent service in the US by the end of 2025, followed by the UK, Japan and Canada in the first quarter of 2026, and has continued expectations for revenue of between $50m and $75m in the second half of 2025 from government and commercial customers.

The firm also expanded its spectrum strategy during the second quarter, with an agreement to acquire 60MHz of global S-Band spectrum priority rights, augmenting its existing 3GPP cellular spectrum strategy to strengthen its position within the wireless ecosystem by further growing subscriber capacity and bringing additional services to targeted markets around the world. It also received court approval for L-Band definitive documentation, providing long-term access to up to 45MHz of L-Band, premium lower mid-band spectrum, in the US and Canada, subject to regulatory approvals.

AST SpaceMobile believes its S-Band and L-Band spectrum strategies further enable a true broadband experience directly from space to everyday smartphones, with up to 120Mbps peak data speeds.

One of the key programmes going forward is advanced commercialisation efforts with the expansion of partnerships, derived from agreements with more than 50 mobile network operators globally, which have nearly three billion subscribers, while receiving additional US Government contract awards.

SatCo, the AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone jointly owned European distribution entity created in March 2025, is said to have received expressions of interest from network operators in 21 of 27 European Union member states for a sovereign direct-to-device mobile broadband satellite service.