StoryTest
AST SpaceMobile completes the first space-based voice call to an unmodified smartphone via BlueWalker 3
AST SpaceMobileBlueBird constellation
AST SpaceMobile completed the first two-way voice calls from space directly to unmodified standard smartphones via its BlueWalker 3 test satellite on April 25, 2023. Testing partners Vodafone, Rakuten, and AT&T confirmed the breakthrough using a Samsung Galaxy S22 and other phones—proving space-based cellular networks can work without handset modifications.
- BlueWalker 3: largest-ever commercial communications array in LEO; first space-to-terrestrial call to ordinary, unmodified smartphones.
- Partner testing: Vodafone, Rakuten Mobile (Japan), AT&T; first call routed through Texas to Japan via AT&T spectrum.
- Demonstrated that large phased-array antenna in orbit can close direct link to standard phones—validates core premise of space-based cellular broadband network.