On September 12th at 4:52 am EDT, the BlueBird
1-5 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and delivered
the five largest-ever commercial communications arrays into low
Earth orbit.
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the
company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband
network accessible directly by everyday smartphones designed for
both commercial and government use, today announced the successful
launch of its first five commercial satellites, called
BlueBirds.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240912442844/en/
BlueBird 1-5 launch (Credit: SpaceX)
The groundbreaking launch started at 4:52 a.m. EDT from Cape
Canaveral, Florida. The event was witnessed by partners and retail
shareholders from around the globe who had gathered to be a part of
this historic milestone.
These large arrays of antennas are designed to reach standard
smartphones directly at cellular broadband speeds for voice, data
and video and other non-communications government applications.
After launch, the BlueBird satellites are planned to offer
non-continuous cellular broadband service across the United States
and in select markets globally.
The BlueBird satellites’ beams are designed to support a
capacity of up to 40 MHz, enabling peak data transmission speeds of
up to 120 Mbps. and will target approximately 100% nationwide
coverage from space with over 5,600 coverage cells in the United
States.
“This is an exciting next step to a future where our customers
will only be hard to reach if they choose to be – giving them the
power to go anywhere and the possibility to do anything while
staying connected with just an everyday cell phone,” said Jeff
McElfresh, Chief Operating Officer, AT&T. “This moment has been
several years in the making, and I am proud of our teams’ work, in
collaboration with AST SpaceMobile, to help make space-based
connectivity a reality.”
“Today’s historic launch from Kennedy Space Center marks the
next step in our shared mission of democratizing
telecommunications,” said Mickey Mikitani, Rakuten Group Chairman
and CEO. “Mobile connectivity is a necessity no matter where you
are. We are proud to be working with a trailblazer like AST
SpaceMobile to create a more connected world.”
A recording of the launch live broadcast will be available on
AST SpaceMobile's YouTube channel.
AST SpaceMobile has more than 3,400 patents and patent-pending
claims for its technology and operates state-of-the-art, vertically
integrated manufacturing and testing facilities in Midland, Texas,
which collectively span 185,000 square feet.
During 2024, AST SpaceMobile has secured additional strategic
investments from AT&T, Verizon, Google and Vodafone, as well as
new contract awards with the United States Government through prime
contractors. The company has agreements with more than 45 mobile
network operators globally, which have over 2.8 billion existing
subscribers in total, including Vodafone Group, Rakuten Mobile,
AT&T, Verizon, Bell Canada, Orange, Telefonica, TIM, Saudi
Telecom Company, MTN, Zain KSA, Etisalat, Indosat Ooredoo
Hutchison, Telkomsel, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom,
Millicom, Smartfren, Telecom Argentina, Telstra, Africell, Liberty
Latin America and others. Rakuten, American Tower and Bell Canada
are also existing investors in AST SpaceMobile.
About AST SpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular
broadband network in space to operate directly with standard,
unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent
portfolio, and designed for both commercial and government
applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission
to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion
mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who
remain unconnected. For more information, follow AST SpaceMobile on
YouTube, X (Formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and Facebook. Watch this
video for an overview of the SpaceMobile mission.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” that
are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results of AST SpaceMobile to differ materially
from those expected and projected. These forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology,
including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,”
“expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential,”
“projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case,
their negative or other variations or comparable terminology.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are
outside AST SpaceMobile’s control and are difficult to predict.
Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not
limited to: (i) expectations regarding AST SpaceMobile’s strategies
and future financial performance, including AST’s future business
plans or objectives, expected functionality of the SpaceMobile
Service, anticipated timing of the launch of the Block 1 BlueBird
satellites, anticipated demand and acceptance of mobile satellite
services, prospective performance and commercial opportunities and
competitors, the timing of obtaining regulatory approvals, ability
to finance its research and development activities, commercial
partnership acquisition and retention, products and services,
pricing, marketing plans, operating expenses, market trends,
revenues, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital
expenditures, and AST SpaceMobile’s ability to invest in growth
initiatives; (ii) the negotiation of definitive agreements with
mobile network operators relating to the SpaceMobile Service that
would supersede preliminary agreements and memoranda of
understanding and the ability to enter into commercial agreements
with other parties or government entities; (iii) the ability of AST
SpaceMobile to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key
employees and AST SpaceMobile’s responses to actions of its
competitors and its ability to effectively compete; (iv) changes in
applicable laws or regulations; (v) the possibility that AST
SpaceMobile may be adversely affected by other economic, business,
and/or competitive factors; (vi) the outcome of any legal
proceedings that may be instituted against AST SpaceMobile; and
(vii) other risks and uncertainties indicated in the Company’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
including those in the Risk Factors section of AST SpaceMobile’s
Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2024.
AST SpaceMobile cautions that the foregoing list of factors is
not exclusive. AST SpaceMobile cautions readers not to place undue
reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date made. For information identifying important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the
Risk Factors in AST SpaceMobile’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on
April 1, 2024. AST SpaceMobile’s securities filings can be accessed
on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as
expressly required by applicable securities law, AST SpaceMobile
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240912442844/en/
Investor Contact: Scott Wisniewski
investors@ast-science.com Media Contact: Allison Eva Murphy
Ryan 917-547-7289 AstSpaceMobile@allisonpr.com
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