AST SpaceMobile said Wednesday it had acquired priority S-band rights globally held under the ITU. The company's direct-to-device satellites were designed with S-band capabilities in mind, it noted. CEO Abel Avellan said that alongside AST's 3rd Generation Partnership Project spectrum strategy and L-band spectrum strategy in North America, "we would be capable of expanding subscriber capacity by offering the vast majority of countries around the world the full AST SpaceMobile network capabilities, together with our mobile network operator partners, enabling a true broadband experience directly from space to everyday smartphones and with a goal of peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps.”
AST SpaceMobile still hasn't justified why it wants to use the 430-440 MHz band for commercial satellite telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) purposes, ARRL told the FCC Wednesday. AST's request "is completely outside the scope of domestic and international allocations for this spectrum" and should be denied, the group said (docket 25-201). Amateur radio interests globally have opposed AST's plans to use the swath of spectrum for TT&C (see 2507210031). ARRL noted that AST also hasn't analyzed the interference potential to amateur radio service, nor has it shown a shortage of spectrum allocated for TT&C.
Reflect Orbital is eyeing an April 2026 launch for its Earendil-1 non-geostationary orbit satellite, it said in an FCC Space Bureau application posted Thursday. Earendil-1 is designed to reflect sunlight to a target on the ground using a motorized thin-film reflector with the aim of extending usable hours for solar cells to collect energy and providing illumination for critical operations, the company said.
Viasat said Friday its board and management "will carefully evaluate" an investment firm's recommendation that the satellite operator break up. Cannonade Capital Management, which owns a 2.6% stake in Viasat, said last week that the company should spin off its defense and advanced technologies (DAT) segment. By itself, DAT "could be one of the most attractive pure-play defense-technology platforms in the market today, with best-in-class margins, double-digit revenue growth and significant exposure to next-gen defense technologies," Cannondale said. Minus DAT, Viasat's communications segment would have less debt and could more readily grow, according to Cannonade.
Wireless and space interests are seeking tweaks to the satellite and earth station application processing draft order on the agenda for Thursday's FCC meeting (see 2507170048).
Danish satellite services company Cobham Satcom is joining the Mobile Satellite Services Association, it said Wednesday. The satellite industry consortium launched in 2024 to focus on the supplemental coverage from space and the direct-to-device ecosystem using L- and S-band spectrum (see 2402090013).
Clearing as much as 60 MHz in the upper C band could happen within 12 months of an FCC order initiating an upper C-band transition, Eutelsat told agency officials. The company recapped its meetings with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office and with Commissioner Olivia Trusty in a docket 25-59 filing posted Tuesday. Eutelsat said it could get that 60 MHz free through compression and wouldn't need new satellite launches. It alternately could clear as much as 130 MHz within three years of an FCC order, it said, with two additional C-band satellites and all services compressed. Eutelsat urged the FCC to use the 2020 C-band transition framework as the foundation for any further reallocation of upper C-band spectrum. That would include a satellite-operator-led transition, structured financial incentives and reimbursement, it noted. Clearing meaningful additional C-band spectrum would require "significant" financial investment by Eutelsat, and financial incentives "should appropriately align with this effort," the company told the commission.
One of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites, if non-functioning, would take from five years to 20.5 years to reenter the atmosphere, depending on its altitude, the company told the FCC in a docket 25-201 filing posted Monday. The filing -- a series of responses to Space Bureau questions -- covered such ground as collision avoidance and propellant availability for end-of-life maneuvers. AST called a completely dead satellite "highly unlikely ... due to the massive redundancy designed into the satellites."
The FCC Space Bureau has rejected a June 2024 waiver request from Theia Holdings for a retroactive waiver of a bond requirement connected with its nongeostationary satellite orbit license, saying in an order Friday that the full $4.3 million value of the bond is due and must be paid to the U.S. Treasury. “Theia’s license was conditioned upon Theia posting, and thereafter maintaining in the Commission’s files, a surety bond with a specified penal amount sufficient to cover its potential liability in the event of default under the Commission’s escalating bond liability formula,” the order said. Theia’s potential liability under the escalating bond liability formula exceeded the value of its bond on file in May, and Theia requested the waiver in June to allow it to sell its assets to Emtech Global International. “After review of the record, we conclude that Theia has failed to demonstrate good cause for waiver of its bond requirement,” the order said. “Rather, Theia’s license became null and void on May 16, 2024, without further Commission action. Accordingly, the full $4,340,000 value of Theia’s bond must be paid to the U.S. Treasury upon written notice from the Commission’s Office of Managing Director.”
Iridium shares tumbled Thursday as the company announced Q2 results that included lowering its services revenue outlook for 2025. In a call with analysts, CEO Matt Desch said service revenue is expected to grow 3%-5% this year, instead of its previous forecast of 5%-7%. Desch chalked up that lower estimate to increased maritime broadband competition, voice subscriptions losses related to canceled U.S. Agency for International Development funding and some positioning, navigation and timing revenue that is now expected to arrive in 2026 instead of this year. William Blair's Louie DiPalma wrote investors that SpaceX was "the primary culprit," with maritime customers shifting from Iridium's satellite network to Starlink. Though many of those customers still use Iridium as a backup, that arrangement generates less revenue, he said. While Iridium expects broadband pricing pressure into 2026, the company raised prices for its commercial satellite phone plans on July 1, which is expected to result in satellite phone service revenue growth accelerating in the second half, DiPalma said. Desch said Iridium has signed several memorandums of understanding with mobile network operators for Iridium's NTN Direct narrowband IoT service, with NTN Direct to launch in 2026. Iridium stock closed Thursday at $25.26, down $7.17.