AST SpaceMobile said it is advancing service readiness and plans to offer initial, intermittent space-based cellular broadband coverage before the end of 2026. [2, 5] The service is targeted for the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. [3, 6] The initial phase will use the company’s growing constellation of BlueBird satellites and a network of more than 60 ground gateways. [5, 8]
Separately, a joint venture between AST SpaceMobile and Rakuten was preliminarily selected for Japan’s J-LEO satellite initiative. [9, 11] The program could provide the venture with up to approximately $1 billion in non-dilutive government funding to support the development of satellite infrastructure under Japanese domestic control. [4, 9]