- Why do AT&T and Verizon matter to AST SpaceMobile?
- When could AST’s satellite service become available to customers?
- How could these partnerships turn into revenue for AST?
- Could Starlink limit AST’s growth and pricing power?
- Can AST fund the network needed to deliver that growth?
- How much future growth is already priced into ASTS stock?
- Author’s take: How should investors assess AST’s next update?
AST SpaceMobile wants to keep ordinary smartphones connected where mobile towers cannot reach and its partnerships with AT&T and Verizon could bring that service to a much wider audience. On November 2, 2026, AT&T announced an important step: a successful test moving a phone connection between its ground network and AST’s satellite network.
The idea is simple. AST provides connectivity from space, while the mobile operators bring their existing customers, networks and billing systems. Together, they could make satellite coverage an extension of the mobile service people already use.
For investors, the challenge is turning that technical progress into a business that earns regular revenue. Can AST launch enough satellites to deliver dependable coverage? What will customers pay and how much will AST retain? Those answers will determine whether the partnerships can support its next growth phase and the expectations already built into ASTS stock.
Why do AT&T and Verizon matter to AST SpaceMobile?
The two carriers give AST something that satellites alone cannot provide: an established route to customers.
AST is building a network that connects directly with ordinary smartphones when ground-based mobile coverage is unavailable. Rather than attracting every customer itself, it plans to provide that connectivity through mobile operators.
The operators bring customer relationships, billing systems, ground networks and access to licensed radio frequencies, also called spectrum. AST provides the satellite connection. For carriers, this could extend coverage into places where building more towers is difficult or expensive.
AT&T announced its definitive commercial agreement with AST in May 2024, extending through 2030. Verizon announced its definitive commercial agreement in October 2025. These are established relationships; the current story is how close they are to becoming usable services.
Having both carriers as partners broadens AST’s potential customer reach. It also gives the company an opportunity to supply connectivity across competing mobile networks, rather than relying on a single carrier to attract users.
Its wider partner ecosystem represents more than 3 billion subscribers across over 60 mobile operators. Those are the operators’ subscribers, rather than paying AST users and the relationships include preliminary arrangements.
Sources: AT&T and Verizon commercial agreement announcements; AST SpaceMobile 2025 Form 10-K and Q3 2026 investor presentation.
When could AST’s satellite service become available to customers?
The latest AT&T milestone shows progress in making the two networks work together. It does not establish that AST-powered service is already widely available to customers.
On November 2, 2026, AT&T announced a successful handoff between its ground network and AST’s satellite network. The demonstration took place on October 21, with supporting technology from Ericsson and Nokia.
A handoff moves a connection from one network to another. For someone travelling beyond a tower’s reach, that transition matters: a satellite connection becomes more useful if the phone can switch to it smoothly.
The next step is turning satellite production into working coverage. Manufacturing alone is insufficient: satellites must be launched, deployed and operating successfully before they can serve customers.
| Milestone | Status as of November 13, 2026 |
| US regulatory authorization | Granted in April 2026 for the planned constellation and supplemental coverage with mobile partners. |
| Launch progress | BlueBirds 11-13 were operating in orbit. BlueBirds 14-16 had reached Cape Canaveral but were awaiting confirmation of a SpaceX launch date. |
| Manufacturing output | Production of six ASIC-enabled satellites a month was targeted for December 2026. |
| Continuous coverage | AST estimates that 45-60 satellites could enable continuous coverage across selected key markets. It targets approximately 45 in orbit by mid-2027. |
| Initial network availability for partners | Intermittent nationwide coverage targeted before the end of 2026. |
| Customer beta trials | Expected in early 2027; management said around 25 satellites would be preferable, with some flexibility. |
| Broad customer launch and final pricing | No firm general-availability date or definitive AT&T/Verizon AST tariff established in the reviewed disclosures. |
Sources: AT&T handoff announcement, November 2, 2026; FCC authorization announcement, April 21, 2026, reproduced by Public Technologies; AST SpaceMobile Q3 2026 business update, investor presentation, November 9 earnings call and coverage FAQs.
Nationwide reach and continuous service are different things. Initially, a connection may be available when a suitable satellite is overhead, with gaps between those windows. Turning on that network for carrier partners also comes before opening customer trials or a broad paid service.
Capacity matters alongside availability. AST says its upgraded processing chip offers ten times the processing bandwidth of its first-generation BlueBird satellites. This could help carry more traffic, but does not automatically mean ten times faster internet for each customer. Available spectrum and congestion also affect performance.
Reaching 45 satellites would put AST at the lower end of its estimated requirement for continuous coverage in selected markets. The next test is whether the deployed network delivers that coverage consistently as usage increases.
How could these partnerships turn into revenue for AST?
AST generally seeks revenue-sharing arrangements with mobile operators. A customer’s entire satellite-service bill would therefore not automatically become AST revenue. What matters is the amount AST receives under the agreement and how many customers use the service.
AST is already earning revenue as it builds its business, including from equipment delivered to support the network. Its results do not yet show a large stream of regular revenue from AT&T and Verizon customers using satellite connectivity.
| Financial measure | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 |
| Revenue | $42.3 million | $14.7 million |
| Operating expenses, including cost of revenue | $211.0 million | $94.4 million |
| Net loss attributable to common shareholders | $132.4 million | $122.9 million |
Revenue rose approximately 187% year over year. The company attributed the quarter’s sales to gateway deliveries and US government milestones. Gateways are ground stations that link the satellite system with networks on Earth. AST also retained its 150million–200 million full-year 2026 revenue guidance.
Sources: AST SpaceMobile 2025 Form 10-K, Q3 2026 earnings release and September 2026 Form 10-Q.
Equipment and government work can generate meaningful sales before consumer service becomes widely available. But they do not answer how much recurring revenue the carrier partnerships will eventually produce. That will become clearer as customer usage and the revenue AST retains are disclosed.
Could Starlink limit AST’s growth and pricing power?
Starlink is already competing for the customers AST hopes to serve. T-Mobile’s satellite service is available to eligible AT&T and Verizon subscribers too and already supports more than basic texting.
Its competitive importance comes down to three points:
- Customers already have an alternative. Non-T-Mobile customers can subscribe using an eligible unlocked phone with eSIM capability while retaining their existing carrier. AST’s partnerships therefore provide distribution, without guaranteeing customer adoption.
- There is a visible price benchmark. T-Satellite is advertised at $10 per month per line, or included in certain eligible T-Mobile plans, subject to terms. Future AST-powered offerings will need to demonstrate enough value to justify their pricing.
- AST must demonstrate useful differentiation. T-Satellite already supports selected applications and WhatsApp voice and video chat. AST needs to show what its service adds through coverage, capacity or integration with the customer’s existing mobile network.
Sources: T-Mobile service and support pages, accessed November 13, 2026; T-Mobile application expansion announcement.
T-Satellite still has limitations: T-Mobile warns of limited data speeds, differences in application functionality and possible gaps or time-outs. The meaningful comparison is dependable coverage and usable capacity under everyday conditions. App-based voice calls should also be distinguished from ordinary calls through the phone’s dialler.
Can AST fund the network needed to deliver that growth?
AST has substantial cash to continue building, but that balance alone does not establish that its entire expansion is funded. Investors need to compare available money with network spending and additional commitments.
| Funding measure | Disclosed amount | What it means |
| Cash and cash equivalents, September 30, 2026 | $2.80 billion | Provides funds to support expansion. |
| Restricted cash, September 30, 2026 | $434.6 million | Held as collateral or otherwise constrained; not freely available for general spending. |
| Combined cash used in operations and property/equipment purchases, January-September 2026 | $1.47 billion | Shows that building the network consumes cash beyond day-to-day operating costs. |
The latest quarterly filing also said a $45 million Verizon commercial prepayment remained due. That payment is creditable against future service revenue; it should not be counted as cash already received or revenue earned immediately.
Additional projects affect both spending and funding. The Firefly agreements for Blacklift involve $900 million in cash consideration, plus an estimated 10 million-14 million AST shares, with payments covering different contractual periods. Separately, the planned Rakuten AST venture is expected to receive up to approximately $1 billion over about three years under Japan’s J-LEO programme. That supports a specific project and its delivery obligations, rather than providing unrestricted cash for AST’s wider expansion.
The funding question depends on when spending turns into usable capacity and incoming revenue. Delays could extend the period AST must finance before the network earns more money. Additional shares can support construction, but they also spread ownership across more shares.
Sources: AST SpaceMobile September 2026 Form 10-Q; Blacklift announcement, November 6, 2026; Rakuten AST announcement, November 9, 2026.
How much future growth is already priced into ASTS stock?
AST SpaceMobile stock closed at $34.50 on November 12, 2026, at 4 p.m. EST, equivalent to November 13 at 2:30 a.m. IST.
To assess valuation, the ownership calculation needs to include the exchangeable interests held in AST’s operating company alongside its listed shares. Using that ownership base and the September 30 balance sheet gives the following illustration:
| Valuation measure | Approximate value |
| Equity value across basic economic ownership | $13.46 billion |
| Debt recorded on the balance sheet | $4.09 billion |
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $2.80 billion |
| Enterprise value: equity value plus debt, minus cash | $14.75 billion |
| Enterprise value divided by guided 2026 revenue | 74-98 times |
Sources: Stockscan and MarketMinute closing-price histories; AST SpaceMobile September 2026 Form 10-Q and Q3 earnings guidance.
At this valuation, investors are paying for a business much larger than the one AST reports today. The high sales multiple reflects expectations of future growth. It does not, by itself, establish what the stock is worth, especially while the network is still being built.
Management sees a revenue opportunity approaching $1 billion in the 12 months following commercial-service launch. That is tied to the launch date, rather than a firm calendar-2027 forecast and includes opportunities beyond AT&T and Verizon consumer usage.
Even at $1 billion of annual revenue, the same illustrative enterprise value would equal roughly 14.7 times sales. This comparison holds valuation unchanged; it does not assume AST will reach that revenue or estimate a fair share price. Profitability, further spending and additional shares would still matter.
The partnerships can strengthen the valuation case as customer access becomes regular revenue and deployment becomes more predictable. Delays make the case harder: income arrives later while construction spending continues. Competition could also affect adoption and pricing, changing how much revenue that network generates. A P/E ratio provides little help while AST remains loss-making.
Author’s take: How should investors assess AST’s next update?
Judge the next announcement by whether it changes the timing, cost or earning potential of AST’s network. Before the update, note management’s promised milestones and delivery dates. Compare the subsequent results with those commitments to see whether the path to commercial service is becoming clearer.
Translate that progress into specific financial assumptions. Earlier customer availability could bring revenue forward. Higher deployment costs or additional shares could reduce the benefit to existing shareholders. A technical achievement deserves weight according to how it changes these expectations.
Where pricing, customer adoption or AST’s share of revenue remains unknown, use a range of outcomes. This keeps the valuation grounded while leaving room to recognise stronger evidence as the business develops.