Avellan’s open letter to shareholders, customers and partners of AST Spacemobile comes after Verizon joined AT&T as a strategic partner of the developer of the world's first space-based cellular broadband network provider for unmodified smartphones.
Signing up Verizon as well as AT&T has accelerated AST’s plans for ubiquitous coverage of the US.
“The key to unlocking this ubiquitous coverage lies in the power of the premium 850 MHz low-band spectrum,” Avellon said.
850 MHz spectrum offers superior signal penetration in the low-band cellular range, and AT&T and Verizon will share with AST SpaceMobile a portion of their respective bands of 850 MHz low-band spectrum to enable the nationwide satellite coverage sought after by the company.
This will be combined with the 850 MHz spectrum already deployed in AST’s terrestrial operations, while the complementary spectrum of both AT&T and Verizon will be utilised “without reallocating any spectrum resources from the earth/ground/land-based networks of either company.”
“This collaboration highlights the effectiveness of collective action,” Avellman added.
“By combining AST SpaceMobile's innovative space-based network with the extensive terrestrial networks and expertise of both AT&T and Verizon, we are creating a solution that benefits everyone. Consumers gain unparalleled access to space-based cellular broadband, businesses can expand into previously unreachable regions, and first responders and rural communities will no longer be left behind in the digital age.”
In addition to AT&T and Verizon, AST SpaceMobile has partnerships with operators including Vodafone, Rakuten, Google, American Tower, Bell Canada, and more than 45 other mobile network operators, and is aiming to use these partnerships to plug connectivity gaps across the globe.
