Press release
AST SpaceMobile Deploys Largest-Ever Commercial Communications Array in Low Earth Orbit
693-square foot array on Blue Walker 3 successfully completed deployment MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ:
About this update from Ast Spacemobile, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n693-square foot array on Blue Walker 3 successfully completed deployment\n\n MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, announced today that it had successfully completed deployment of the communications array for its test satellite, BlueWalker 3 (“BW3”), in orbit.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221114005574/en/693-square foot array on Blue Walker 3 successfully completed deployment. (Photo: Business Wire)\nBW3 is the largest-ever commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit and is designed to communicate directly with cellular devices via 3GPP standard frequencies at 5G speeds. Now that it has been unfolded, the satellite spans 693 square feet in size, a design feature critical to support a space-based cellular broadband network. The satellite is expected to have a field of view of over 300,000 square miles on the surface of the Earth.\n\nThe unfolding of BW3 was made possible by years of R&D, testing and operational preparation. AST SpaceMobile has a portfolio of more than 2,400 patent and patent-pending claims supporting its space-based cellular broadband technology. Additional details on the BlueWalker 3 mission can be seen in this video.\n\n“Every person should have the right to access cellular broadband, regardless of where they live or work. Our goal is to close the connectivity gaps that negatively impact billions of lives around the world,” said Abel Avellan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AST SpaceMobile. “The successful unfolding of BlueWalker 3 is a major step forward for our patented space-based cellular broadband technology and paves the way for the ongoing production of our BlueBird satellites.”\n\nAST SpaceMobile has agreements and understandings with mobile network operators (“MNOs”) globally that have over 1.8 billion existing subscribers, including a mutual exclusivity with Vodafone in 24 countries. Interconnecting with AST SpaceMobile’s planned network will allow MNOs, including Vodafone Group, Rakuten Mobile, AT&T, Bell Canada, MTN Group, Orange, Telefonica, Etisalat, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, M...