Advanced Television is reporting that a formal notice from AST SpaceMobile stated the company is still targeting an August launch of a batch of their massive ‘Block 1’ BlueBird 5G satellites.
News also emerged that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has requested the ITU in Geneva, which regulates satellite frequencies globally, to recognize AST’s satellites (under its USASAT-NGSO-20 filing). The news helped propel the company’s share price up by almost 4 per cent.
July 21st saw reports from Japan where AST’s local telco Rakuten confirm that test signals from AST’s sole satellite currently in orbit were “very strong” as the craft passed over Japan.
AST is launching the five BlueBird satellites to connect the non-covered ‘not-spots’ of terrestrial cellular operators, such as AT&T and Verizon. The five craft are reported to have arrived at Cape Canaveral ready for launch, although this has not been officially confirmed.
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