By Adam Clark
AST SpaceMobile stock was rising early Thursday. A joint venture between major cell carriers to boost coverage in remote areas could be good news for the satellite-broadband stock.
AT&T, Verizon Communications, and T-Mobile US said Thursday they are forming a joint venture to help end dead zones in the U.S. by the use of satellite-based connections. The three companies -- normally fierce rivals -- will pool their spectrum resources to increase capacity and help satellite providers reach more customers.
The deal is subject to a definitive agreement and each company will still be able to pursue independent connectivity efforts.
Still, an industrywide commitment to satellite-based connectivity is a potential boon for AST SpaceMobile, which already has deals with AT&T and Verizon to provide services directly to customer devices. Such a joint venture is a validation of AST SpaceMobile's plans to eventually provide 5G-quality voice, data, and video coverage worldwide and could broaden its customer base.
AST SpaceMobile shares were up 4.9% in premarket trading.
"AST SpaceMobile is happy to see how the industry is preparing to enable space-based cellular broadband connectivity to every American," said AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan in a statement. "We plan to be a key enabler of this transformation as we continue to grow our global network in low Earth orbit and expand available spectrum to our network."
However, AST SpaceMobile still faces a race to get its network operational. With six satellites currently in orbit, AST SpaceMobile needs between 45 and 60 operational to offer a commercial service in northern latitudes, a goal it is aiming to achieve this year. Rocket launch provider Blue Origin botched a mission to put a satellite in orbit for AST SpaceMobile in April.
AST SpaceMobile can't afford too many delays -- the three carriers said in their statement they expect to work with multiple satellite service providers.
AST SpaceMobile is racing against Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is promising a similar service called Starlink Mobile by the end of 2027. Amazon.com is poised to join the satellite-to-device internet competition from 2028 following its recently agreed acquisition of Globalstar.
The race to space just got a bit more competitive.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2026 09:26 ET (13:26 GMT)
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