Satellite internet is making waves again! AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US) ignites the commercial prospects of "low-orbit direct connect phones" with the launch of BlueBird.

Focus on the "Direct Mobile Satellite Broadband" track, the satellite internet technology leader AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US) reported on Wednesday that its exclusive BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites were successfully launched by SpaceX Falcon 9 and successfully entered space orbit, pushing the stock to rise nearly 8% in pre-market trading. After the record-breaking IPO of SpaceX (SPCX.US) focusing on "AI + space exploration" founded by Musk last Friday, the global stock market is heating up around investments in commercial spaceflight and artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. Musk's SpaceX stock continued its rise in pre-market trading on Wednesday, rising more than 4% at one point. Following the epic IPO, SpaceX's value surpassed the super giants of American cloud computing and e-commerce, Amazon.com, Inc., becoming the world's fifth largest publicly traded company - second only to NVIDIA Corporation, Alphabet, Apple Inc., and Microsoft Corporation. AST SpaceMobile stated that the BlueBird satellite is the largest commercial communication array ever deployed in low Earth orbit, with an area of approximately 2,400 square feet, used for commercial purposes for governments, defense contractors, and enterprises. The BlueBird satellite has been produced and deployed to BlueBird 37, while BlueBird 11, 12, and 13 satellites are in the final preparation stage for transport to Cape Canaveral. "This initial stacked launch is just the beginning," said Abel Avellan, CEO of the company. "BlueBird 11, 12, and 13 satellites will soon be launched for our next launch, and the next generation of BlueBird satellites, following BlueBird 37, are already in active production and final assembly. Our focus is firmly on actual execution: expanding launch pace, manufacturing scale, and preparing for commercial services." It is understood that AST SpaceMobile has agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators worldwide, representing over 3 billion users, and has established deep strategic partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Rakuten, Alphabet Inc. Class C (Google), Bell, Telus, stc Group, and American Tower. In terms of market growth trends, satellite internet is entering a high-growth window, with Fortune Business Insights predicting that the global satellite internet market will grow from $9.53 billion in 2026 to $33.4 billion in 2034. ResearchAndMarkets' report estimates that the global satellite internet market could grow from $5.1 billion in 2024 to $24.6 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 29.9%. These two studies highlight the fact that low-orbit satellite broadband is transitioning from the "Aerospace Hi-Tech Holding Group epic narrative" to the "actual redistribution of communication infrastructure market share" and profit growth stage. Who is AST SpaceMobile? AST SpaceMobile's main business is to build a low-orbit "satellite cellular broadband network" and deliver 4G/5G cellular broadband directly to regular smartphones with BlueBird satellites, without requiring users to change phones, install special terminals, or satellite dishes. In terms of business model, it is more like a "space low-orbit base station/blind spot network supplier" targeting mobile operators, governments, and enterprise customers, rather than the model of companies like Starlink that primarily sell satellite broadband terminals and packages to individuals, businesses, and aviation users. The company's website states that the BlueBird satellite allows regular phones to make video calls, browse the web, and use apps globally, and discloses its potential ecosystem with agreements with nearly 60 mobile network operators covering over 3 billion users. By measuring the number of satellites in orbit, commercial coverage, satellite internet technology revenue scale, and satellite network maturity, SpaceX's Starlink has approximately 9,800 active satellites, making it the absolute leader in the global low-orbit internet field. OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper, and others also occupy important positions in the broader satellite internet field, so Wall Street analysts accurately position AST as one of the most representative publicly listed companies in the "direct mobile satellite broadband" sub-track. SpaceX's Starlink-led satellite internet is leading the way in the rise of the "new king"! Moving towards traditional network territory AST SpaceMobile's recent strong stock price surge has benefited significantly from the commercial aerospace investment wave ignited by SpaceX's record-breaking IPO, but its rise is not just "riding on the concept of SpaceX," but rather a fundamental catalyst verified by its own satellite system deployment entering the phase of scale growth. The biggest highlight of AST SpaceMobile is its intersection at the point of "satellite internet + direct mobile phone + operator cooperation + military communication redundancy." The company has disclosed agreements with nearly 60 global mobile network operators, covering over 3 billion users, and has established strategic partnerships with major customers like AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, and others. If the follow-up constellation density, spectrum coordination, terminal direct connection stability, and unit economic model are realized, AST could become one of the most representative "space cellular broadband" pure targets outside of SpaceX. AST recently completed the orbit launch of BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 satellites, with this mission being executed by SpaceX Falcon 9; AST states that its BlueBird satellite provides satellite cellular broadband to regular unmodified smartphones, serving both commercial and government purposes. The single satellite communication array is approximately 2,400 square feet, making it one of the largest commercial communication arrays deployed in low orbit. More importantly, BlueBird 8-10 is positioned as the next-generation stackable architecture, aiming to speed up constellation deployment and achieve close to double the peak data speed of the initial Block 1 BlueBird; all of this indicates that AST's growth narrative has moved from "concept validation" to the "execution stage of launch pace, manufacturing capability, and commercial service readiness." The tidal wave of satellite internet led by Starlink is likely to continue to erode the traditional telecom operators like AT&T in low-density broadband, edge wired networks, partial FWA substitution, enterprise backup links, and direct mobile phone incremental markets, but it will not completely replace traditional broadband/fiber optics and wireless communication, cellular core networks in the short term at least. Traditional telecom giants like AT&T and others in the US have both large traditional wired network assets and are accelerating investments in 5G and fiber optics. However, Wall Street institutions such as Oppenheimer recently believe that these telecom giants are experiencing an expanding impact from low-orbit satellite broadband like Starlink, with low-orbit satellite systems expected to become the new infrastructure layer for global connectivity, forcing a revaluation of the fundamentals of traditional telecom operators. Technologically, the revolution of low-orbit satellites lies in their transition from the traditional high orbit, high latency, low-capacity mode to a near-Earth orbit, large-scale constellation, frequent reuse, low latency, and rapidly iterated network architecture. Starlink is currently one of the absolute leaders in the low-orbit internet market, with reports showing its user base exceeding 9 to 10 million; and regarding the next generation V3 satellites, there are reports indicating significantly higher network capacity, with data suggesting that a single launch can bring far higher capacity than the V2 Mini and support a higher bandwidth experience. The direct mobile satellite communication market is predicted by institutions to grow from $3.56 billion in 2026 to $26.57 billion in 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 28.54%. This indicates that in the future, satellites will not only be a substitute for home broadband but may also become a supplementary layer for mobile communication networks, covering emergency communication, wilderness, maritime, aviation, IoT, and poorly covered areas. Traditional operators can choose to cooperate with satellite companies, using satellites as network extensions, and may be directly diverted by new players like Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, attracting high-value users, international roaming, enterprise connections, and IoT scenarios.