AST welcomes a European spectrum letter that has not picked a satellite partner

AST SpaceMobile said on 19 October 2026 that it welcomes a letter of intent by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone to explore a joint European bid for mobile-satellite spectrum. Via Satellite reported the same day that the carriers' letter leaves the satellite partner still to be selected and that the operators would not invest in a constellation. AST said its existing Satellite Connect Europe venture provides European ground stations that link BlueBird satellites to operator networks. The letter is not a spectrum award or a new AST launch contract.