ASTS Stock Eyes Weekly Comeback: AT&T Says AST SpaceMobile Satellite Offering Will 'Come To Fruition' Next Year

The offering could help cover the remaining 2% of traffic beyond AT&T’s network.

• The service would connect standard smartphones directly to satellites outside terrestrial coverage.
• AT&T expects seamless satellite handoffs without special phones, apps or added hardware.
• AT&T CEO John Stankey said that the rollout does not depend on future smartphone or chipset breakthroughs.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) are eyeing their first weekly gain in three weeks, with telecom major AT&T saying that its direct-to-device satellite offering with the aerospace company could begin taking shape as early as next year.

ASTS stock fell 2% on Wednesday to $61.95, but recovered much of that fall in overnight trading. Shares are still up 7% so far this week, with a bulk of the gains coming from Tuesday after Midland officials approved a deal offering the company up to $66 million in performance-based incentives for a major manufacturing expansion. 

AT&T, AST SpaceMobile Push Toward 2027 Launch

AT&T CEO John Stankey said on the company’s second-quarter (Q2) earnings call on Wednesday that the carrier’s work with AST SpaceMobile is moving closer to a customer-ready product: “The work that we're doing through the combination of the JV and all the technical work we've been doing up to this point in time, for example, with one of the partners we're working with, AST SpaceMobile, those are all going to come to fruition as we move into next year.” 

AST SpaceMobile and AT&T are developing a service that would allow standard, unmodified smartphones to connect directly to satellites when users move outside terrestrial cellular coverage. The companies have worked together since around 2018 and signed a definitive commercial agreement in May 2024 covering satellite-based voice, text and data services through 2030.

AT&T expects the satellite connection to operate as an extension of its existing mobile network rather than as a separate service requiring specialized phones, apps or hardware. Stankey called the upcoming offering “a very intuitive product that doesn't require the customer to do anything differently.” He added that customers could continue using their existing devices as usual while moving between coverage areas. 

“If they walk off the network, they're not going to walk off the network,” Stankey said. “We're going to provide them a seamless transition into coverage via satellite on a directed device basis.” AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites can function as cell towers in space, connecting directly to ordinary smartphones through cellular spectrum supplied by partners including AT&T.

ASTS Could Close AT&T Dead Zones

AT&T sees satellite coverage as a way to keep customers connected when they move beyond its terrestrial network. Stankey said that AT&T already handles more than 98% of a converged customer’s internet traffic, leaving satellites to cover the remaining 2%. He said that AT&T expects to close that gap next year, including for FirstNet users and first responders in remote areas.

Stankey also said that the rollout does not depend on new smartphones or chip breakthroughs: “We sit here today with everything we need to put the best product in the market,” he said.

AST SpaceMobile completed a two-way voice call through its BlueWalker 3 test satellite in April 2023, followed by a video application call and a direct-to-cellular 5G connection later that year. The company launched its first five commercial BlueBird satellites in September 2024 and has since demonstrated video, voice, and text connectivity through its network. 

How Do Retail Traders Feel About ASTS?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for ASTS slipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ levels a day ago amid a 31% decline in 24-hour message volumes.

One bullish user said, “$ASTS We haven't had two green days in a row since June. RSI is over sold and one of the most shorted stocks on the market... This is starting to set up for a squeeze.”

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Another user said, “$ASTS Looking like under $70 is a gift today!!!”

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ASTS stock has risen 9% over the past year. 

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