AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) shares climbed 3.5% Monday morning following a significant announcement about its space-based cellular broadband expansion across Europe.
The company revealed that Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone signed a Letter of Intent to explore a potential joint bid for Mobile Satellite Services spectrum.
The agreement marks a notable alignment among Europe’s four largest mobile network operators around AST SpaceMobile’s growing satellite connectivity ambitions.
The collaboration is expected to accelerate network integration and extend coverage into areas that currently lack reliable mobile connectivity across the continent.
The initiative supports a coordinated approach to spectrum access and service deployment, enabling operators to deliver space-based cellular broadband through their existing mobile services.
AST SpaceMobile is providing a dedicated network of European-operated ground infrastructure that connects its BlueBird satellites directly with mobile operators’ core networks.
The infrastructure is designed to support coverage across a market with over 500 million mobile subscribers, while keeping data handling and service control within European jurisdiction.
The company’s BlueBird satellites connect directly to standard smartphones, eliminating the need for specialized hardware or separate satellite devices.
AST SpaceMobile has demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps, with next-generation satellites expected to deliver peak data rates approaching 200 Mbps.
The company’s satellite technology can tune across approximately 1,150 MHz of mobile network operator partners’ low- and mid-band spectrum globally, giving it significant operational flexibility.
Together with AST SpaceMobile’s S-band priority rights, this flexibility enables the company to combine participating operators’ spectrum with satellite spectrum to support expanded coverage and capacity in European markets, subject to applicable authorizations.
The coordinated push into Europe signals growing confidence among major telecoms that space-based cellular broadband represents a viable path to closing persistent coverage gaps on the continent.
