(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)
The FCC on Friday gave AST SpaceMobile limited authority to operate its satellite system for smartphones, one of the first regulatory hurdles the company needs to overcome in its bid to compete with SpaceX’s upcoming cellular Starlink tech.
The approval means Texas-based AST SpaceMobile can operate its first five “BlueBird” satellites, which the company is slated to launch in September. However, the FCC decided to defer a decision on AST SpaceMobile's request to fully use the radio frequencies it needs to offer cellular satellite coverage.
Instead, AST can only use the radio frequencies for "telemetry, tracking, and command," which lets it monitor and control the satellites. In another setback, the FCC also tabled the company’s request to launch and operate an additional 243 satellites — when at least 45 to 60 commercial satellites will be needed to power continuous coverage across the US.
“We conclude that it is in the public interest for AST to begin deploying its satellites with the ultimate goal of testing an SCS [supplemental coverage from space]-capable system, subject to additional approvals,” the FCC wrote in the order.
“While this grant does not authorize any operations or testing for SCS, we believe that the deployment of five satellites under this limited grant, subject to additional approvals, will enable AST to request authority to further test this still emerging technology,” the US regulator added.
The order suggests the FCC wants to evaluate how the first BlueBird satellites perform before it greenlights more of the constellation and its operations. AST’s first prototype satellite, BlueWalker-3, launched in 2022 with a massive 693-foot communication array that caused some astronomers to complain about its brightness in the night sky.
Despite the limitations of the FCC order, AST SpaceMobile still calls the decision a “critical step” to helping it deliver broadband coverage to carriers like AT&T and Verizon in cellular dead zones. “This regulatory milestone is a significant step to targeting 100% nationwide coverage from space of the continental United States on premium cellular spectrum” AST President Scott Wisniewski said in a statement.
Rival SpaceX is also still waiting to receive FCC approval before it can commercially operate its own Starlink service for phones. The regulator is weighing concerns such as potential interference with radios and astronomy and the satellites themselves posing an orbital hazard if they were to ever fail. Although the FCC only granted AST SpaceMobile a limited license, it still noted that the company supplied “an orbital debris mitigation plan in conformance with our rules.” The FCC order also imposes conditions to help it monitor AST’s operations with the BlueBird satellites.