The complementary objectives of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission and AST SpaceMobile underscore the critical role that digital inclusion plays in realizing a sustainable and equitable future. The Commission aims to achieve worldwide broadband access by 2030, and the company feels that Mr. Avellan’s appointment as a Commissioner highlights the possible role that space-based cellular broadband could play in achieving this goal.
Under Avellan’s direction, AST SpaceMobile has led the way in technological innovation in creating the ground-breaking space-based cellular broadband network, which aims to provide common smartphones with direct broadband connectivity.
It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed to the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission. Avellan, the founder, chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile, expressed his strong belief in the transformative power of connectivity and his excitement about supporting the Commission’s efforts to ensure that everyone has access to broadband, guaranteeing that connectivity is a right rather than a privilege.
The goal of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development for 2030 is to use broadband technology as a catalyst to accelerate global progress toward the SDGs. A crucial engine of socioeconomic development, innovation, and access to basic services, universal broadband connectivity serves as the foundation for our objective.
For its technology, AST SpaceMobile has received over 3,100 patents and patent pending claims. It also runs cutting-edge, vertically integrated manufacturing and testing facilities in Midland, Texas, totaling 185,000 square feet.
With over 40 mobile network operators worldwide—including Vodafone Group, Rakuten Mobile, AT&T, Bell Canada, Orange, Telefonica, TIM, Saudi Telecom Company, Zain KSA, Etisalat, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Telkomsel, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Millicom, Smartfren, Telecom Argentina, Telstra, Africell, Liberty Latin America, and others—the company also has agreements and understandings with these operators, together with their combined subscriber bases. Other current investors in AST SpaceMobile include AT&T, Bell Canada, American Tower, Vodafone, Google, Rakuten, and AT&T.
Based on our vast intellectual property and patent portfolio, AST SpaceMobile is developing the first and only worldwide cellular broadband network in space that can function directly with conventional, unmodified mobile devices. In order to provide internet to the billions of people who are still without access, our engineers and space scientists are working to close the connectivity gaps that currently affect the five billion mobile subscribers. Follow AST SpaceMobile on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) for additional information. For a summary of the SpaceMobile mission, see this video.
