MIDLAND, Texas and
LONDON and JOHANNESBURG,
Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- AST SpaceMobile, in partnership with Vodafone Group, today
unveiled plans to launch the first phase of its space-based
commercial mobile communications service in 2023. The company has
secured the necessary funding to take the venture to this next
stage, which will cover the 49 largest countries in the equatorial
regions.
Vodafone wants to ensure that our customers are always connected
and everyone benefits from a digital society. This is why we are a
lead, strategic partner of AST SpaceMobile, which is uniquely
positioned to provide universal mobile coverage to rural areas in
Africa, and in the future,
Europe, further extending our
leading network. The space-based mobile network will also enable us
to provide instant communications in the event of a natural or
humanitarian disaster.
AST SpaceMobile will be the first service of its kind to connect
standard mobile phones at 4G and 5G speeds using AST SpaceMobile's
patented space-based network. Today, more than five billion mobile
subscribers constantly move in and out of wireless coverage, and
AST SpaceMobile's solution will fill these coverage gaps to enable
people to stay connected whilst on the move. This is a significant
breakthrough in helping to bring affordable mobile connectivity to
more than half of the world's population that do not have internet
on their phone. Traditional satellite systems require expensive
specialized satellite phones or ground antenna systems, which is
different to AST SpaceMobile's patented technology, where all that
is needed is the phone in your pocket.
The first tranche of AST SpaceMobile's launch plans will involve
the use of 20 satellites to offer seamless, low-latency mobile
connectivity that can be accessed by approximately 1.6 billion
people across a vast geographical region. The initial service will
target an area North and South of the equator, including rural and
remote areas of a number of markets where Vodafone will integrate
the technology into the services provided by its Vodacom, Safaricom
and Vodafone brands. Subject to regulatory approval in each market,
these will include DRC; Ghana;
Mozambique; Kenya; and Tanzania. AST SpaceMobile will also apply for
regulatory approval to launch the service in India.
Shameel Joosub, the CEO of Vodacom Group, said: "Providing
affordable mobile coverage for everyone requires a blend of
technologies and infrastructure, from traditional masts to small
cells, balloons and satellites at the edge of space. While we have
been adding deep rural network sites to connect remote communities
without any coverage, the lack of power in some areas creates
insurmountable obstacles. AST SpaceMobile will ensure that remote
communities in many sub-Saharan African countries can have access
to the latest digital services."
"We are thrilled to move forward in executing on phase one of
our commercial launch in conjunction with Vodafone," said Abel
Avellan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AST
SpaceMobile. "Our high-speed, low latency platform represents
the world's first venture aimed at massively closing the digital
divide by bringing affordable and accessible connectivity to the
regions that need it most. We believe our game-changing solution
will serve to drive universal and global connectivity, allowing
societies to utilize digital technology to gain greater access to
knowledge and information."
In order to support the phase one commercial launch of its
network, AST SpaceMobile has secured up to US$462 million in gross proceeds in additional
financing. This will come from existing investors in the company
including Vodafone, Rakuten and American Tower as well as new
financial investors including UBS O'Connor and a broad base of
financial institutions.
AST SpaceMobile today also announced that it entered into a
business combination agreement with New Providence Acquisition
Corp. (NASDAQ: NPA, NPAUU and NPAWW), a publicly traded special
purpose acquisition company, assuming no redemptions of New
Providence's existing public stockholders, including the private
placement backed by strategic partners, existing investors and a
broad base of financial institutions. Upon closing of the
transaction, AST SpaceMobile will become a publicly traded company,
and it is expected that its common stock will be listed on the
NASDAQ exchange under the symbol "ASTS". All AST SpaceMobile
shareholders are retaining 100% of their equity in the combined
company. The cash proceeds are expected to be used to fund phase
one of the commercial launch of AST SpaceMobile's space assets.
Backed by an extensive IP and patent portfolio, AST SpaceMobile
will enable global seamless roaming to and from terrestrial
cellular networks, filling mobile coverage gaps around the world.
With initial access to 1.3 billion subscribers from a group of the
world's largest wireless communications companies, AST
SpaceMobile's services will ultimately aim to meet the needs of the
five billion mobile subscribers who face broadband connectivity
issues when moving in and out of terrestrial cellular range and
enable mobility access to more than half of the world population
that does not have access to internet on their phone.
About Vodafone
Vodafone is a leading
telecommunications company in Europe and Africa. Our purpose is to "connect for a
better future" and our expertise and scale gives us a unique
opportunity to drive positive change for society. Our networks keep
family, friends, businesses and governments connected and – as
COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated – we play a vital role in keeping
economies running and the functioning of critical sectors like
education and healthcare.
Vodafone is the largest mobile and fixed network operator in
Europe and a leading global IoT
connectivity provider. Our M-Pesa technology platform in
Africa enables over 45m people to benefit from access to mobile
payments and financial services. We operate mobile and fixed
networks in 21 countries and partner with mobile networks in 48
more. As of 30 September 2020, we had
over 300m mobile customers, more than
27m fixed broadband customers, over
22m TV customers and we connected
more than 112m IoT devices.
We support diversity and inclusion through our maternity and
parental leave policies, empowering women through connectivity and
improving access to education and digital skills for women, girls,
and society at large. We are respectful of all individuals,
irrespective of race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual
orientation, gender identity, belief, culture or religion.
Vodafone is also taking significant steps to reduce our impact
on our planet by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by
2025 and becoming net zero by 2040, purchasing 100% of our
electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and reusing, reselling
or recycling 100% of our redundant network equipment.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us
on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.
About AST SpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile is building the
first, and only, global broadband cellular network in space to
operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on
our extensive IP and patent portfolio. Our team of engineers
and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity
gaps faced by today's five billion mobile subscribers and finally
bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected. Learn
more at www.ast-science.com and follow AST SpaceMobile on
Twitter @AST_SpaceMobile and LinkedIn, and for an
overview of AST SpaceMobile, check out this video.
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SOURCE AST SpaceMobile