AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ: ASTS) is a space-based broadband company that designs, builds, and operates satellites intended to deliver direct-to-cellular connectivity to standard mobile devices without specialized hardware. The company's revenue model is wholesale: it contracts with mobile network operators (MNOs) who pay for the right to offer SpaceMobile Service to their end subscribers, structured as day passes, monthly add-on subscriptions (consumer and enterprise), standalone connectivity plans, and aeronautical, maritime, military, and government service tiers. As of the FY2025 10-K (filed 2026-03-02), ASTS had signed commercial agreements with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, and Saudi Telecom Company (STC), and held a ten-year agreement with STC covering Saudi Arabia and regional markets. The company is headquartered in Midland, Texas, where it owns satellite assembly, integration, and test (AIT) facilities. ASTS is pre-profitability and capital-intensive, having issued $1,075.0 million in 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2036 in February 2026. Abel Avellan serves as Chairman and CEO.

Revenue model

Wholesale connectivity fees from MNOs who resell SpaceMobile Service to end users. Service tiers include day passes (ad-hoc), monthly consumer and enterprise add-on subscriptions, standalone get-connected plans, aeronautical and maritime broadband, and military and government service. The company also records product revenues, though specific revenue figures were not disclosed in the available filing excerpts.

Products and services

SpaceMobile Service: space-based direct-to-cellular broadband delivered via low Earth orbit satellites. Block 1 BB satellites (in operation as of October 29, 2024, depreciated over approximately 60-month useful lives). Block 2 BB satellites (in production as of FY2025, initially supporting low-band spectrum, with mid-band spectrum design in progress). Proprietary ASIC chip (IP owned by the company, developed over four-plus years with an estimated 150 man-years of R&D). Satellite subsystems including solar power systems, battery packs, power control and distribution units, and flight software.

Customers and end markets

Primary customers are MNOs: AT&T (continental United States excluding Alaska, and Hawaii), Verizon (continental United States excluding Alaska, and Hawaii, starting 2026), Vodafone (markets outside SatCo-covered Europe and UK), and Saudi Telecom Company (Saudi Arabia and key regional markets, ten-year agreement signed October 29, 2025). End user segments include consumers, commercial enterprises, aeronautical and maritime users, and military and government customers.

Value-chain role

Vertically integrated satellite operator: designs and manufactures satellites at owned and leased AIT facilities in Midland, Texas; Homestead, Florida; and Lanham, Maryland. Owns proprietary ASIC chip IP. Delivers wholesale connectivity to MNOs, who distribute service to end subscribers. Also holds a jointly-owned European satellite service business with Vodafone (SatCo) that exclusively distributes SpaceMobile Service to MNOs in Europe, UK, and certain other markets.

Geographic exposure

United States (continental, excluding Alaska, and Hawaii) via AT&T and Verizon agreements. Europe and UK via SatCo joint venture with Vodafone. Vodafone end-user markets outside SatCo coverage. Saudi Arabia and regional markets via STC ten-year agreement signed October 29, 2025.

Source: SEC 10-K, filed 2026-03-02

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