(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)
In the race to develop satellite services, AT&T and Verizon are both hailing recent tests that show they can power video calls on US phones using next-gen satellites from AST SpaceMobile.
The video calls tap into AST’s BlueBird satellites, which the Texas-based startup launched into space back in September. The five satellites have since been orbiting Earth, with the goal of operating as cell towers in space that can connect unmodified phones on the ground.
Although AST is still working for approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to operate the satellites commercially, the company did receive clearance last month to test the BlueBird constellation with both AT&T and Verizon — two of the startup’s major investors.
In AT&T’s case, the carrier used a BlueBird satellite to power a video call from a phone in Midland, Texas, to another device in Dallas, while harnessing the carrier’s radio spectrum. Meanwhile, Verizon was able to do the same, but through the BlueBird 2 satellite; one phone was connected via satellite and the other was using Verizon’s terrestrial network connection.
The carriers didn’t offer details, such as the quality of the video call or the connection speeds. But AT&T has uploaded a short clip, showing what the video call looked like. As you can see, the video quality is a bit grainy, but the call is successfully carried out. The results are also similar to the video call test Vodafone conducted in the UK last month, which also used AST's satellites.
Competitor T-Mobile is aggressively trying to build interest in its own satellite-to-phone service through SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system, which currently supports text messages. Earlier this month, T-Mobile opened the beta program to test cellular Starlink connectivity for all US users, including those on AT&T and Verizon’s networks. In July, the company plans to start charging $15 per month per line for T-Mobile subscribers and $20 per month per line for all other users.
(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)Hence, consumers can expect a heated rivalry as AT&T and Verizon tout their own advancements in satellite-to-phone services, which aim to end cellular dead zones. In AST's case, the startup has designed its extremely large satellites to power voice calls and video and data downloads with speeds reaching over 20Mbps.
The problem is that AST SpaceMobile only has five satellites in orbit, in contrast to SpaceX’s cellular Starlink constellation, which spans close to 500 and will one day support voice and video calls. AST will need several months or even a year before it launches the needed 45 to 60 BlueBird satellites to offer continuous coverage over the US.
In the meantime, the FCC has given AT&T and Verizon temporary clearance to test AST’s existing BlueBird satellites with up to 2,000 devices in the US.