Starlink Competitor AST Soars After Confirming Satellite Launch

(Bloomberg) -- AST SpaceMobile Inc. jumped more than 50% to close at a record high after the satellite communication company confirmed an early September window for its inaugural commercial launch of a network in low-Earth orbit.

The Midland, Texas-based company is working with partners including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. on a plan to provide wireless service from space to regular consumer smartphones, a market also being targeted by SpaceX’s Starlink. The stock surge places AST SpaceMobile’s market value at more than $8 billion.

AST plans to begin operating its satellites by the end of the year, President Scott Wisniewski said in an interview.

While Elon Musk’s company will be a competitor in the direct-to-device market, AST plans to use a SpaceX rocket to send its first five commercial satellites to orbit next month from Cape Canaveral in Florida. AST is working on 17 more satellites, the first of which is scheduled to go to space in early 2025 aboard a rocket from one of Musk’s launch rivals.

“We’re launch-vehicle agnostic,” said Wisniewski, who wouldn’t disclose the name of the rocket company or the timetable for the launch of all the new satellites.

The satellites that will be launched in September, called BlueBirds, are about 700 square feet (65 square meters), “which is a large studio apartment,” Wisniewski said. That makes them the largest-ever collections of satellites to be deployed commercially in LEO, short for low-Earth orbit, according to the company.

AST doesn’t intend that record to last long, though, since the new satellites will be more than three times the size of the BlueBirds.

The Federal Communications Commission gave AST an initial license for space-based operations, the company announced Aug. 5. However, that’s not the end of the regulatory process. AST, along with AT&T and Verizon, plans on submitting data to the FCC in order to receive authorization for wireless frequencies, said Wisniewski.

The surge in the stock price came after AST reported after the market close on Aug. 14 quarterly earnings and sales that trailed estimates, with revenue of $900,000 and a net loss of $72.6 million. Still, the progress so far creates reason for optimism, according to a report from UBS.

“Initial US regulatory approval, the imminent launch of its first commercial satellites, and partner/funding progress add to our conviction,” UBS analysts wrote, adding they see “a meaningful revenue ramp in 2026.”

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--With assistance from Janet Freund.

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