AST SpaceMobile is gearing up to expand its satellite-to-phone services across Europe, challenging SpaceX’s Starlink in mobile connectivity. The Texas-based company, backed by Vodafone, plans to provide seamless coverage across Europe with its satellite-powered mobile broadband.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
AST SpaceMobile and Vodafone are creating a new satellite service business, SatCo, to integrate with European mobile carriers. The goal is 100% geographic coverage, ensuring connectivity even in remote areas. Unlike traditional satellite internet, AST’s technology allows direct connections from mobile phones to satellites, eliminating the need for additional hardware.
SatCo’s focus on European digital sovereignty ensures that countries can control the data flowing through the system. AST is preparing to operate dozens of ‘BlueBird’ satellites, which act as space-based cell towers. Ground stations and network backhaul will be built across Europe to support this infrastructure.
AST CEO Abel Avellan states that in collaboration with Vodafone, the company is working to make mobile broadband from space a reality.
This expansion comes as the European Union invests $11 billion into its satellite internet project, IRIS², to reduce reliance on SpaceX’s Starlink. While IRIS² targets high-speed broadband for businesses, governments, and consumers, AST SpaceMobile’s solution focuses specifically on mobile connectivity.
Vodafone has already demonstrated the technology in Wales, using BlueBird satellites to enable a video call from an area without cellular coverage. In the U.S., AST is also partnering with AT&T and Verizon to extend service to cellular dead zones, showing the technology’s potential globally.
However, AST SpaceMobile still faces a challenge in launching the service. The company has only sent five BlueBird satellites into orbit, far short of the 45-60 required for continuous coverage. Vodafone expects the service to roll out across Europe between 2025 and 2026.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is moving fast, with nearly 500 cellular Starlink satellites already operational. These satellites are currently supporting SMS messaging for T-Mobile users as part of a beta program, with full service launching in July. Additionally, SpaceX is partnering with carriers in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, but its European deals remain limited to Ukraine and Switzerland.
TF Summary: What’s Next
AST SpaceMobile is positioning itself as a serious competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink, offering mobile carriers a way to provide seamless satellite coverage without requiring extra hardware. If the company can quickly scale its satellite network, it could secure a strong foothold in the European mobile connectivity market. However, SpaceX’s aggressive expansion and existing partnerships may prove challenging. The race for space-based mobile broadband dominance is heating up.
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