TELUS, AST SpaceMobile Complete First Canadian Satellite Test
What happened
TELUS and AST SpaceMobile completed a first network-integration test on Oct. 5, linking AST's satellites directly to standard smartphones at up to 120 Mbps per cell. The test, on TELUS's Canadian network, used AST's Block 2 BlueBird satellites and validated calls, texts and broadband data on unmodified LTE and 5G handsets. TELUS is already an AST equity investor, alongside AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten and Bell Canada. Commercial service — starting with texts, calls and emergency alerts in remote regions — is expected within a year.
Read-across for SES
AST is proving out its direct-to-device model market by market, and Canada is now live alongside its European and US tests. Elveo, SES's own D2D venture with Omnispace and Lynk, competes for the same carrier deals AST is now locking in market by market. Each AST milestone narrows the window for Elveo to establish itself as Europe's sovereign alternative before AST's multi-continent carrier roster becomes the default.
As the brief filed it
[AGE: 15h] TELUS and AST SpaceMobile finished their first Canadian satellite-to-smartphone network test. AST targets commercial service within a year, a new market SES's own Elveo bet must out-compete.