AT&T-backed cellular satellite company sends 4G LTE signal from space

a texas company called AST Spacemobile The company managed to successfully transmit a 4G LTE signal from space, which was picked up by “everyday, off-the-shelf smartphones”. announced this morning, The satellite AST, called BlueWalker 3 (BW3), will attempt a 5G connection for its next major test. The company says its recent test was a “world first”.

Testing was carried out in Hawaii on AT&T’s spectrum using Nokia RAN technology, and the signal, which was transmitted from AST’s satellite in low Earth orbit, reached speeds of up to 10.3 Mbps. That’s fast enough for some video streaming, general Internet use, and more general cell phone use.

The AST’s test follows a recent April test by the same company, where it was able to route an audio call via satellite between a Samsung Galaxy S22 in Texas to an iPhone in Japan.

AST’s release said BW3 is a massive commercial communications array at 693 square feet — about the size of a two- or three-car garage — and the largest ever deployed in low Earth orbit. that’s how it works 3GPP standard Found in ground-based cell networks.

According to AST President and CEO Abel Avelon, this achievement is “an important step toward AST Spacemobile’s goal of bringing broadband services to parts of the world where cellular coverage is either unreliable or non-existent today.” To send messages and make calls, to browse the Internet, to download files, and even to stream video using signals transmitted from space.