AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) experienced a significant pre-market surge of 9.79% on Monday, as the company announced a definitive long-term commercial agreement with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) through 2034.
The agreement establishes the framework for Vodafone to offer space-based cellular broadband connectivity in its home markets and partner markets using AST SpaceMobile's upcoming satellite network. Vodafone, a leading European and African telecommunications company, has been a key technology partner and investor in AST SpaceMobile since 2018, collaborating on the development of direct-to-device connectivity with everyday smartphones.
As part of the deal, Vodafone has placed an order for its first BlueBird gateway, a crucial milestone in the deployment of AST SpaceMobile's global network infrastructure. The next-generation Block 2 BlueBirds satellites, with their large communications arrays, are designed to deliver high-bandwidth capacity and peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps, supporting voice, data, and video applications.
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