Google and AT&T invest in Starlink rival for satellite-to-smartphone service

Enlarge / Illustration of AST SpaceMobile's cellular satellite. (credit: AST SpaceMobile)

Google, AT&T, and Vodafone are investing $206.5 million in AST SpaceMobile, a Starlink competitor that plans to offer smartphone service from low-Earth-orbit satellites.

This is the first investment in AST SpaceMobile from Google and AT&T, while Vodafone had already put money into the satellite company. AST SpaceMobile announced the funding in a press release on Thursday and announced a $100 million public offering of its stock on the same day.

"Vodafone and AT&T have placed purchase orders for network equipment from AST SpaceMobile to support planned commercial service," the satellite company said. Google has meanwhile "agreed to collaborate on product development, testing, and implementation plans for SpaceMobile network connectivity on Android and related devices." AST, which has one very large test satellite in orbit, previously received investments from Rakuten, American Tower, and Bell Canada.