Verizon customers will have the option for space-based cellular broadband service beginning in 2026 through a commercial agreement the company signed on Oct. 8 with AST SpaceMobile.
AST SpaceMobile of Midland, Texas, will combine its space-based low Earth orbit cellular network with Verizon’s 850 megahertz spectrum to provide customers with expanded cellular coverage. Verizon customers who are out of range of their carrier’s communications towers will be able to connect directly to AST SpaceMobile’s satellite-to-cellular technologies without the need for special equipment or modified phones, AST SpaceMobile said.
Abel Avellan, founder, chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, said the definitive commercial agreement with Verizon advances the company’s mission to deliver space-based cellular broadband coverage across the continental United States. AST SpaceMobile’s space-based broadband architecture works similarly to land-based cell towers, the company said….