US company makes ground-breaking space-based cellular call

AST SpaceMobile, a US satellite designer company, has recently used its space-based cellular broadband network to complete a two-way voice call using standard unmodified smartphones.

This first-ever communication was made from the Midland, Texas area to Rakuten in Japan over AT&T spectrum.

The achievement marks a great step towards “providing connectivity to the nearly 50% of the global population who remain unconnected from cellular broadband”.