Kudos to Abel Avellan and his team at AST for closing this incredible round. We are delighted to have supported this team for the past 2 years and consider it to be one of the most exciting companies in the New Space ecosystem. Broadband connectivity from Space direct to any mobile phone is a gamechanger for both the satcoms and telecoms sectors. Exciting times ahead!
See video link from the CTO of Vodafone, one of the investors in this round, on why they will provide this as a service to their subscribers: https://tinyurl.com/wqql849
AST & Science’s space-based network will be the first to connect directly to 4G – and in the future 5G – smartphones without any need for specialized satellite hardware. Other investors include: American Tower; Cisneros; Samsung NEXT; and founder Abel Avellan
https://ast-science.com/2020/03/03/rakuten-vodafone-invest-in-ast/