Space to smartphone communications took another step forward yesterday, with both AT&T and Verizon announced successful calls to AST SpaceMobile’s satellite constellation. This could signal a game-changer for many Americans with spotty cell coverage.
And, in turn, some quiet links to a key Canadian smartphone and telephony company might make this advance equally relevant to many Canadians.
Calling to space from a smartphone
As seen in previous SpaceQ coverage, this new technology deviates from existing satellite phones. While there have been both phones and text-based personal devices that communicate with satellites for decades, they’re largely clunky and rugged devices with large antennas, primarily used as emergency communications tools in remote regions.
This was primarily due to the fact that almost all satellite communications were done with satellites in geosynchronous orbit, outside the reach of a typical smartphone antenna. Even with those large antennas, modern data communications would be unfeasible due to the latency involved in communications with a distant satellite in geosynchronous orbit.
With the rise of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, however, has created an opportunity for satellites with phased array digital beamforming antennas to connect with ordinary smartphones. Several companies have been working on developing and commercializing this technology, including Lynk, GlobalStar, and AST SpaceMobile.
AST has been working on this for years, and have made deals with a variety of phone companies, including AT&T and Verizon in the United States. They began testing connections with their BlueWalker 3 test satellite in 2023, launched the 5 initial satellites for its BlueBird constellation in late 2024, and finally received FCC permission to begin testing smartphone-to-BlueBird communications over AT&T and Verizon’s wireless spectrum in January of 2025.
Successful tests across two American networks
A month after receiving FCC permission for the testing, both Verizon and AT&T announced today that they’d successfully tested the satellite-to-smartphone communications capabilities of AST SpaceMobile’s constellation. Both companies performed bandwidth-intensive video calls between smartphones, using connections that relied on AST’s BlueBird satellites.
Verizon’s announcement trumpeted the fact that this was their first satellite-to-smartphone video call. Saying that they have “yet again pushed the boundaries of what can be done with mobile devices”, they said they successfully trialed a live video call between two mobile devices: one connected via satellite and the other via a terrestrial connection. They called it “a significant step forward”,and promised “the fastest to device network with text, voice and live video calling capability.”
Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon, said that the call “marks a new era in cellular to satellite connectivity in the United States”, and that adding these capabilities “will only enhance the reliability of our customers’ connectivity and communication experience.”
Meanwhile, this was a repeat performance for AT&T, at least in part. AT&T’s announcement noted that they successfully completed their first video call in June 2023, using AST’s BlueWalker 3 satellite. This was, however, AT&T’s first video call using the BlueBird satellites. AST SpaceMobile “initiated the video call from Midland, Texas to AT&T in Dallas”, they said, “demonstrating the seamless integration of space-based communication technology with everyday smartphones.” It also featured video of the quick 30 second call.
Jeff McElfresh, COO of AT&T, was quoted as saying that customers “want connectivity wherever they are, and they deserve a simple, seamless experience from one provider.”
A possible Canadian partner for AST SpaceMobile
The Verizon and AT&T announcements took pains to point out that the United States generally doesn’t lack for terrestrial connectivity, with Vestberg making a point of saying that it was for “the rare instance a terrestrial cellular network is not available.” In Canada, however, the situation can be more pressing. There are significant parts of Canada with either spotty connectivity or no connectivity at all.
In previous SpaceQ coverage, we pointed to potential arrangements between Rogers and both Starlink and Lynk (an AST competitor) to provide direct-to-smartphone satellite communications.
There are, in turn, several indicators of a potential AST entrance into the Canadian market through a partnership with Bell Canada.
In June of 2024, AST SpaceMobile announced that Johan Wibergh would be joining their board of directors, as well as serving as the Chairman of AST SpaceMobile’s Network Planning and Spectrum Committee of its Board of Directors.
Noting that “Wibergh brings over 35 years of experience in the telecommunications sector”, they also said that Wibergh was on the board of “BCE Inc and Bell Canada, a TSX and NYSE listed company, and the largest telecommunications company in Canada.” While Wibergh is on several other boards, according to his LinkedIn, it was his most recent board appointment barring the AST SpaceMedia role.
More interesting, however, is around the same time, Bell Canada was also added to their strategic partners page. While Bell is an investor in the company, the initial Bell Ventures investment in AST SpaceMobile was made in 2022, nearly two years prior to the change and to Wibergh joining the AST SpaceMobile board. Both of these may indicate a key behind-the-scenes change, and a deepening relationship between the two companies.
(For their part, Bell’s only releases on AST SpaceMobile concern the Bell Ventures investment.)
In a mid-2024 earnings call, AST Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan also emphasized Bell Canada’s role as a key investor in their company. Notably, he mentioned Bell alongside both AT&T and Japan’s Rakuten: two companies that are already working with AST SpaceMobile on satellite-to-mobile service.
When asked about the possibility of AST SpaceMobile enabling access in Canada, Avellan was quick to point out that it was primarily a question of their constellation’s orbit, saying that the orientation of their initial constellation will extend to the 59th degree of latitude (both North and South of the equator).
Avellan said that this is because they were currently focused on “prioritizing the United States”, but did mention that their satellites have coverage “from Canada all the way to Argentina in the Americas” and “South Africa all the way to Northern Europe and Japan”.
In the call, Avellan noted that they are being “very careful where we start initiating services with customers”. But the new prominence of Bell on their Board, on the website, and in Avellan’s call—as well as the lack of any arrangement between Bell and another provider like GlobalStar, Lynk, or SpaceX—suggests that Bell and AST SpaceMobile may be performing another one of these trials some time in the future.
While this wouldn’t help Canadians north of the 59th, it would cover a large part of Canada’s existing population, and still fill potential holes in Bell’s existing coverage.
AST SpaceMobile’s next quarterly business update will be on Tuesday, March 4th. At that time, they may share more information on whether or not Canadians will also be able to take advantage of their technology at some point in the near future.
