The Federal Communications Commission has given a Texas satellite communications company until the 12th of September to complete its trial use of the 800 MHz spectrum for direct-to-device cellular broadband service. AST SpaceMobile has been operating under a 30-day permit for delivery to mobile phones in Lanham [LANNUM], Maryland and near its own Midland, Texas headquarters. The direct-to-device trial is being run with consumers' everyday phones.
The regulator granted the approval in April for AST to use frequencies between 817MHz and 824MHz for uplink and between 862MHz and 869MHz for downlink. AST SpaceMobile has strategic partnerships with cellular providers Verizon and AT&T.
The Texas startup company is a rival of SpaceX, which operates the StarLink satellite constellation, which is also involved in direct-to-device operations. AST SpaceMobile stirred controversy earlier this year after the FCC granted it limited use of part of the secondary amateur band between 430 and 440 MHz for emergency telemetry, tracking and control of its satellites. The FCC has said in the past that interference with ham radio was “unlikely.”
