Ligado seeks FCC approval for AST SpaceMobile deal

Nobody, except maybe Elon Musk & Friends, wants SpaceX/Starlink to be the only satellite provider lording over the direct-to-cell/direct-to-device market. That’s the general gist of one of the ideas put forth by Ligado in its application to the Federal Communications Commission to modify its L-band satellite license so that Ligado can work with AST SpaceMobile. Ligado wasn’t quite as direct in its language, but here’s how the satellite company put it in its application to the FCC: “Approval of this Modification Application is all the more important given SpaceX’s announcement of its agreement to purchase EchoStar’s S-band spectrum, since the Commission will want to ensure the market for space-based mobile broadband is competitive, dynamic and responsive to the increasing threat from China.”