AT&T and Verizon users will soon get a taste of what it's been like for T-Mobile customers
AST SpaceMobile has announced a beta timeframe.
The company is known to set ambitious targets. | Image by The Motley Fool
T-Mobile customers have had access to satellite texting since early 2025. Sure, AT&T and Verizon users can also use the SpaceX-powered T-Satellite service, but that requires paying $10 a month per line and fiddling with an eSIM. Besides, nothing beats a native experience. That is coming soon, according to AT&T's and Verizon's satellite partner AST SpaceMobile.
AST SpaceMobile has pledged to activate intermittent service across the US and other key markets by the end of 2026.
The company hopes to have 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by mid-2027. That number is expected to climb past 100 between 2027 and 2028.
Right now, AST SpaceMobile relies on SpaceX and Blue Origin for deploying its satellites, though that will start to change once its purpose-built rocket, Blacklift, is ready to take over in late 2028.
As Light Reading notes, AST SpaceMobile previously hoped to have 45 satellites — the threshold for continuous US coverage — in orbit by the end of 2026.
AST isn't letting the slipped timeline hold it back, soldiering on with "intermittent" coverage in the meantime. President and chief strategy officer Scott Wisniewski said to expect "nationwide availability when a satellite is overhead."
Mobile operators will begin trialing the service in early 2027, by which time the company aims to have 25 satellites in orbit.
Earlier this month, AT&T announced that it worked with AST SpaceMobile, Ericsson, and Nokia to complete the first-ever handoff between a terrestrial and satellite network, bringing it a step closer to commercial launch.
The tech ensures uninterrupted connectivity as users move between legacy and extraterrestrial networks.
SpaceX officially rolled out its direct-to-device (D2D) service in the US in July 2025. The service has since expanded from texting to light data. Meanwhile, the company is teasing more capabilities with the next-gen satellites.
AST SpaceMobile has yet to launch even a beta, so AT&T and Verizon users have admittedly been missing out.
However, when the service does arrive, it's expected to support not just text messages, but also voice and video calls. Additionally, with Blacklift reportedly capable of deploying up to five BlueBird satellites per launch, AST SpaceMobile is cutting its reliance on third parties to speed up its rollout.
As essential as D2D capabilities are, they account for a tiny fraction of total traffic. Maybe AT&T and Verizon users haven't been missing out on much after all.
Promises, promises
AST SpaceMobile has pledged to activate intermittent service across the US and other key markets by the end of 2026.
Right now, AST SpaceMobile relies on SpaceX and Blue Origin for deploying its satellites, though that will start to change once its purpose-built rocket, Blacklift, is ready to take over in late 2028.
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Ambitious targets
As Light Reading notes, AST SpaceMobile previously hoped to have 45 satellites — the threshold for continuous US coverage — in orbit by the end of 2026.
Mobile operators will begin trialing the service in early 2027, by which time the company aims to have 25 satellites in orbit.
We think that those beta trials are best with about 25 satellites, although there's some flexibility there. But for us, our long-held target has been to light up that network for them, and that's what we're focused on right now with beta to follow shortly thereafter, early in the year.
Scott Wisniewski, president and chief strategy officer, November 2026
AT&T gave us an early preview
Earlier this month, AT&T announced that it worked with AST SpaceMobile, Ericsson, and Nokia to complete the first-ever handoff between a terrestrial and satellite network, bringing it a step closer to commercial launch.
Too late, but not too little
SpaceX officially rolled out its direct-to-device (D2D) service in the US in July 2025. The service has since expanded from texting to light data. Meanwhile, the company is teasing more capabilities with the next-gen satellites.
AST SpaceMobile has yet to launch even a beta, so AT&T and Verizon users have admittedly been missing out.
However, when the service does arrive, it's expected to support not just text messages, but also voice and video calls. Additionally, with Blacklift reportedly capable of deploying up to five BlueBird satellites per launch, AST SpaceMobile is cutting its reliance on third parties to speed up its rollout.
Reasons to look out for AST SpaceMobile:
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