SpaceMobile’s goal is to build a space-based cellular broadband network that would allow smartphones to connect to satellites, bypassing cell towers, and allow communication and coverage in areas that would not normally be covered.
Cell phone users in rural areas could soon be “over the moon” after reports earlier this week of an audio call that took place by satellite communications. Yes, folks, with the increasing technology, “dead zones” could become a thing of the past. But it will take a while.
One company in particular, AST SpaceMobile, is hoping to change that. AST SpaceMobile is a satellite design and manufacturing company founded in 2017 by Abel Avellan. Avellan has a history in telecommunications and his history with satellite-based communications providers dates back to 1999. SpaceMobile’s goal is to build a space-based cellular broadband network that would allow smartphones to connect to satellites, bypassing cell towers, and allow communication and coverage in areas that would not normally be covered. They have partnered with AT&T to help boost the coverage gap.
Earlier this week in Midland, Texas, SpaceMobile and AT&T used an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone and through the SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 satellite, connected to a mobile carrier in Japan. This feat was considered a major milestone in connecting parties using satellites in space.
It is not only AT&T that is looking to obtain satellite coverage. Verizon and T-Mobile have also partnered with other satellite networks with the same goal in mind: connecting areas where service is sparse and challenged.
There are many steps left to take before satellite connectivity becomes available to everyone and many unknowns still exist. What the companies have said so far is that customers’ existing plans should work once satellite coverage becomes available. AT&T has also said that the service should integrate with LTE and 5G broadband that is currently offered on the network. What we do not know is if the companies will charge a monthly fee for this service, and if they do, how much that fee will cost.
Right now, AT&T has indicated that they plan to launch five commercial satellites in late 2023, and beginning in 2024, SpaceMobile will then be able to offer intermittent broadband services.
