Joe Ross

$ASTS: Starlink resorts to attacking "foreign investors"

$ASTS: It's entertaining to see SpaceX and T-Mobile scrambling to have power limits raised for their D2C satellites. It's important to understand that the FCC's Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS) was established as SECONDARY to terrestrial mobile service. Satellite companies are required to ensure SCS deployment doesn't interfere with existing terrestrial mobile networks. Recently, SpaceX and T-Mobile have pursued a FCC waiver on the aggregate out-of-band omission (OOBE) power-flux density (PFD) limits and requested an almost nine-fold increase in the already allowed limit by regulations. Why? Because SpaceX is coming to the realization that its Direct-to-Cellular satellites that were quickly slapped together utilizing technology from SpaceX's acquisition of Swarm, a low bandwidth IoT LEO satellite startup that became infamous for becoming the first US company to have deployed satellites without regulatory approval in 2018, CAN'T WORK UNLESS THE FCC POWER LIMITS ARE INCREASED. Swarm's technology was never designed to work with unmodified mobile phones utilizing terrestrial cellular spectrum. Now SpaceX and T-Mobile find themselves in the unenviable spot of convincing the FCC that the power limits, that THEY HELPED CREATE to protect terrestrial networks, be raised so that their D2C satellites can work. These power limits were developed as part of the SCS regulatory framework that both SpaceX and T-Mobile helped shape along with other industry players a year ago! Yes you read that right, SpaceX and T-Mobile agreed to these limits, but are now coming back hat in hand asking the limits to be increased. You can't make this up. While some SpaceX supporters may brush this off as a move by industry incumbents to stifle innovation and block out a potential new competitor, it's important to note that T-Mobile raised interference concerns with the FCC about AST SpaceMobile's application for its new D2C service in November 2020. T-Mobile stated in 2020: "AST’s Petition for Declaratory Ruling is ultimately unnecessary to achieve many of the stated public interest benefits, as T-Mobile is already addressing the issues AST seeks to address with the instant request, specifically the deployment of affordable wireless broadband service to unserved or underserved rural areas and enhancing competition in these areas. Rather than bridging the Digital Divide, granting the Petition for Declaratory Ruling could exacerbate deployment to these areas by impeding a well-established, well-funded and technologically sound deployment due to harmful interference. " AST has addressed these concerns through multiple interference studies and test results, and from the beginning architected its solution to work with existing terrestrial networks and subsequently meets the FCC SCS interference requirements. Imagine that! AST SpaceMobile and other satellite operators are all working within the regulatory framework EVERYONE AGREED TO, but SpaceX and T-Mobile are now asking for the rules to be changed because their technology doesn't work.

$ASTS: Great news today that AST has achieved 21mbps on just 5 MHz of spectrum! This is up from 14mbps / 5 MHz disclosed previously. I think it's worth revisiting AST's video highlighting the first ever 5G connection from space. Upwards and onwards! 🚀 youtu.be/jgMEJtFpadw?si=1J0e…

$ASTS: Rakuten to offer AST Spacemobile service to its subscribers in Japan starting in 2026.