AST Urges Prompt FCC Action on U.S. Licensing

AST SpaceMobile is pressing FCC commissioners for quick action as it seeks a U.S. license. The agency has an amendment from AST SpaceMobile seeking conversion of its pending U.S. market access petition to an application letting it launch and operate under U.S. jurisdiction. In FCC Space Bureau filings this week recapping meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez, AST said it needs quick action. That would then allow routine gateway operations with interference protections at sites where work is already underway. FCC approval also would enable AST to conduct continental U.S. testing once it successfully launches its Block 1 Bluebird satellites into their assigned orbits, it said.