- With a red-hot valuation, AST SpaceMobile is in an enviable position among today’s satellite players
- However, Viasat is challenging AST’s use of Ligado’s L-band spectrum and AST's new global spectrum rights are not iron-clad
- Access to spectrum is key if AST going to offer the kinds of broadband services it’s promising
Even a promising young satellite company soaring to stardom can’t count on a free ride into stratospheric success. At over $17 billion, AST SpaceMobile’s market valuation is far higher than long-time satellite diehards like Iridium, Globalstar and EchoStar. But it’s grappling with spectrum challenges.
Part of AST’s success revolves around its ability to get mobile satellite spectrum (MSS) to compete globally, including from Ligado. But Inmarsat, which Viasat acquired in 2023, last week argued in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that there was never an agreement to let Ligado, and by extension AST SpaceMobile, use L-band spectrum outside North America. Of course, Ligado and AST SpaceMobile disagree.
The dispute is important because much of AST’s strategy depends on its ability to get access to spectrum outside of terrestrial deals, such as the agreements AST has with AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. The MSS spectrum will help AST offer the 120 Mbps broadband services that set it apart from many of the other direct-to-device (D2D) satellite players. Everyone wants to offer satellite coverage to everyday smartphones, but not everyone is as ambitious as AST in its mission to offer broadband from space.
Spectrum in flux
In addition to the global L-band spectrum from Ligado that’s now in legal limbo, AST SpaceMobile earlier this month announced a $64.5 million agreement to acquire 60 MHz of global S-band spectrum priority rights from (according to an SEC filing) CCUR Holdings and EllioSat. EllioSat acquired spectrum rights that were previously held by Sky and Space Global, which include MSS frequencies in the range of 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz.
To use that spectrum, AST SpaceMobile needs to get regulatory approvals on a country-by-country basis, which is no small feat. But that’s not the only spectrum in play here. The European Union is preparing to decide who gets access to 2 GHz spectrum, a decision that will likely come later this year. Several entities are in the running for that, including EchoStar, Viasat, AST/Vodafone and SES/Lynk Global, according to satellite industry consultant and TMF Associates Principal Tim Farrar.
“It's very necessary for AST to have a path towards more spectrum if they want to offer higher data rate services,” Farrar told Fierce.
On the positive side for AST SpaceMobile, bankruptcy courts tend to favor debtors, “so it's not unreasonable to think that AST and Ligado may ultimately win this fight with Viasat, but it's introducing more uncertainty at an awkward time when this [2 GHz] European fight over spectrum is going on as well,” Farrar said.
What others say about AST
Quilty Space co-CEO and President Chris Quilty acknowledged that Elon Musk’s SpaceX got a head start on D2D, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr “on speed dial” and the FCC providing key regulatory approvals. But AST has the superior satellite design and technology, and a moat of patents protects it, Quilty told Fierce via email.
AST has also landed more than 50 agreements with mobile network operators, and it’s backed by Google, AT&T, FirstNet, Verizon and Vodafone, with plans well underway to be the "alt-Starlink" in the EU for direct-to-cellular services, he said.
“AST is acquiring a respectable portfolio of MSS spectrum for spectral diversity,” Quilty said, adding that AST has landed a few U.S. government wins that will be useful to open bigger doors for them down the line.
“We really liked the Ligado spectrum acquisition, but their recent S-band spectrum license (the old Sky and Space Global spectrum) is mostly a call option,” Quilty said.
AT&T’s vote of confidence in AST
For its part, AT&T, an early supporter of AST whose long-time executive JR Wilson recently joined AST’s executive ranks, remains bullish even though rival T-Mobile got a jump on D2D with its T-Satellite launch with Starlink.
“We’re continuing to work with AST SpaceMobile to offer a full suite of broadband connectivity: voice, data and text in remote, off-grid locations. And also in the future, it could include video,” an AT&T spokesperson told Fierce, noting that AST’s service doesn’t require nearly as many satellites as some of its competitors.
“We’re making sure our direct-to-device service with AST SpaceMobile is worth the wait. Service is planned to come in 2026, and when it arrives, it’ll deliver the quality and reliability you expect from us,” the AT&T spokesperson concluded.