(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)
AST SpaceMobile, a challenger to SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile, is teasing a way to increase the download speeds from its existing satellites by nearly five times.
The Texas-based startup published a video today showing its BlueBird satellites delivering up to 98.9Mbps downloads to a phone on a stationary boat in the Bahamas. “Direct to a standard smartphone over international waters. No modifications. No new hardware,” it said.
The demonstration stands out because AST SpaceMobile used first-generation BlueBird satellites (Block 1) to deliver nearly 100Mbps. Previously, the company demoed speeds “up to 21Mbps,” which could power voice and video calls. But it looks like AST developed a way to squeeze even more bandwidth out of its first-gen BlueBirds, which launched in 2024, and feature a massive antenna spanning 693 square feet.
In the demo, AST shows the download rate reaching 97.5Mbps during the first test. In a second test, downloads peak at 98.9Mbps. AST didn’t elaborate on how it achieved the high speed during an earnings call later today. The company's CEO Abel Avellan merely said, "the big data rates are actually not dependent on the FPGA or ASIC — that's how many of those connections you can have simultaneously— and do not rely on the AI in order to get to the 100Mbps that was have on FPGA satellites that are actually the smaller initial satellites. And we expect to double the 98Mbps that we have using the BB6, which is already in orbit, and the (BB) 8, 9, and 10, which we will launch very quickly."
The company also noted it conducted the test over international waters, which is causing some to speculate AST is harnessing a large swath of radio spectrum it doesn't have the rights to use over the US.
AST has been racing to compete with Starlink Mobile on cellular satellite, which keeps people connected in cellular dead zones. Starlink Mobile already serves customers through T-Mobile using 650 satellites, but with speeds of around 4Mbps. That said, SpaceX is developing a second-gen Starlink Mobile network to offer 150Mbps speeds per user.
(Credit: AST SpaceMobile)The main challenge facing AST has been launching satellites that will one day serve AT&T and Verizon customers. So far, the company has only seven satellites in orbit, six of which are first-generation BlueBirds. The seventh satellite, BB6, is the company’s first second-generation satellite, and features an even larger antenna capable of speeds up to 120Mbps per cell.
(Credit: AST)AST’s goal is to operate 45 to 60 BlueBirds by the end of this year, so that it has enough satellites to offer continuous coverage in key markets, including the US. But last month, AST lost BB7 during a missed deployment using Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, a major setback. To make up for the loss, the company is preparing to fly up three second-gen BlueBirds next month using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the aim of conducting more launches “every one to two months on average.”
In the earnings call, AST also stood firm on its goal of operating 45 satellites by year's end, despite the loss of BB7. The company expects to pull this off in the coming months by sourcing a handful of launches from SpaceX and Blue Origin's New Glenn, which can fly up to eight BlueBirds by flight.
(AST)The company has previously mentioned that it can also achieve "noncontinuous" service in the select markets using only 25 BlueBird satellites.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from AST's earnings call and speculation about how the test is leveraging more radio spectrum.