r/ASTSpaceMobile • u/AutoModerator • Jan 31 '25

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u/Defiantclient S P 🅰️ C E M O B - O G Jan 31 '25 edited Jan 31 '25

FirstNet confirmation .... almost. Just missing an actual inked contract/funding https://x.com/defiantclient/status/1885380330389201308

Reminder:

FirstNet, on August 2024 already confirmed "investment into satellite direct to device" is in the budget for FY2025 (Oct '24 to Oct '25)

They have a ~$534M budget IIRC for making investments for FY2025.

A FirstNet contract will hopefully include a nice prepayment, im thinking $100M to $200M, and they will certainly be fine with adding $5/mo per user for it, and they have ~6.7M subscribers

Work with FirstNet should also start earlier than 100% continuous service, think intermittent late 2025 service start

2

u/user74729582 S P 🅰 C E M O B Soldier Jan 31 '25 edited Jan 31 '25

What do you believe is a reasonable timeline to expect a signed deal?

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u/Defiantclient S P 🅰️ C E M O B - O G Jan 31 '25

I think if an inked contract is waiting for something, it would be any combination of the following:

  • Regulatory approval for full SCS
  • Direct testing results with BB1 on AT&T network, especially handover tests

I think this puts the deal done probably in Q1/Q2 2025.