AST SpaceMobile (ASTS 5.02%) stock bounced back Thursday from yesterday, surging 5.2% in the first 10 minutes of trading on a big advance in direct-to-cell satellite communications (DTC) technology.
After close of trading yesterday, Reuters reported that Vodafone (VOD 0.35%) has completed "the world's first video call via satellite using a standard smartphone from a remote location" -- and the satellite used was an AST SpaceMobile BlueBird.
Curiously, it seems Vodafone itself announced this development a whole day earlier, on Tuesday, but no one noticed. Heralding the "first space video call from an area of no coverage using a standard mobile phone and commercial satellites built to offer a full mobile broadband experience," Vodafone explained that the video call was placed from a "remote mountainous location in mid-Wales ... where there has never been mobile broadband before" to its own CEO at Vodafone's "new space-to-land gateway."
Vodafone confirmed that the phones used were "normal 4G/5G smartphones." Vodafone further confirmed the use of AST satellites in the experiment, and noted that Vodafone is not only a partner to AST, but an investor in the company as well. AST counts U.S. telecom giants AT&T and Verizon among its other notable partners
British astronaut Tim Peake called the accomplishment a "significant breakthrough." AST CEO Abel Avellan said it marks "another significant step forward in our partnership with Vodafone."
Vodafone noted that AST SpaceMobile has "the only satellite technology of its kind built to offer a full mobile broadband experience." But the company still hasn't managed to start up beta service on its satellites for Vodafone and the other partners. Moreover, rival companies are catching up to AST fast.
Most worrying of all, SpaceX has more than 300 DTC Starlink satellites in orbit, and has already begun beta service. They're only doing text messages at present, but Elon Musk has promised that Starlink DTC will only get more capable over time.
And time may be running out for AST SpaceMobile.
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