AST Delivers 5G to Ordinary Phone From Space

AST SpaceMobile has achieved another important testing milestone by successfully making a 5G phone call on an unmodified Samsung Galaxy S22 via its BlueWalker 3 test satellite currently in orbit. The phone was located in a cellular dead zone on Maui, Hawaii. The connection used AT&T spectrum; the same radio frequencies AT&T uses for its land-based 5G network. The company has conducted a series of different tests over the past year to validate its technology, including the first phone call in April, followed by 4G data in June, data download rates of up to 14 Mbps, video calls, streaming video, and "full compatibility with phones made by all major manufacturers". The company says it is on track to launch five commercial BlueBird satellites — already under construction — in the first quarter of 2024. AT&T is one of the many companies worldwide that AST has an agreement with to provide satellite coverage where its land-based network does not reach. AST's technology is made possible by the satellite's massive antenna, "the largest-ever commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit."