Abel Avellan: The Elon Musk Rival Who Is Helping Connect Phones From Space

NDTV

26-05-2025

Washington:
AST SpaceMobile, a key rival of Elon Musk's Starlink, aims to establish a network to allow satellite internet to beam directly to smartphones even in the most remote areas. It will keep the devices connected even when they are not in the range of a tower.
For now, this is possible only via special hardware on expensive satellite phones.
AST SpaceMobile CEO and founder Abel Avellan told Forbes that the company's vision was to "provide connectivity without disadvantage to wherever people are located".
The company took an early step in this direction when it launched five satellites onboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral in September last year.
Each of them is equipped with a 700-square-foot antenna, which will unfold in orbit. The antenna sizes hold the key to Avellan's goal of major success in an all-new market. This will help beam satellite internet directly to smartphones.
On the other hand, SpaceX utilises thousands of satellites that connect one and all to the internet.
These 700-square-foot antennas will be succeeded by way larger 2,400-square-foot versions in the future, the report said.
Through these large-sized antennas, AST SpaceMobile is eying global coverage with only 90 satellites. Out of these, the company looks forward to launching 60 into orbit by 2026 end.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which took flight for the 373rd time last September, carried Starlink satellites to join over 7,100 others that Musk already has encircling the planet. In a regulatory filing, SpaceX earlier derided AST SpaceMobile satellites as a "meme stock".
Starlink's $12.3 billion in revenue is driven by internet access to the fixed-base stations that remain attached to households and businesses but not smartphones.
Similarly, Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper does not have its eye set on this. In April, it launched the first set of 27 satellites that are part of the planned 3,200-plus project.
Starlink is currently doing beta testing with T-Mobile. This allows its users to send text using the Starlink network when they don't have a signal on their devices.
Compared to the $350 billion valuation of Starlink, the Texas-based AST SpaceMobile only holds a market cap of $8.7 billion as of now.
A major opportunity for AST SpaceMobile is to provide internet to over 2.6 billion people, majorly in developing nations, rather than providing off-grid connectivity in Europe and North America. This is because not all of them can afford Starlink, Forbes reported.
The basic base station facility of Starlink begins at $350, while people need to pay roughly $80 per month for Wi-Fi at home.
For broadband, Avellan said the "cheapest and most efficient way" is via phone.