AST SpaceMobile has secured a major deal with Verizon amid growing competition with SpaceX and T-Mobile

AST SpaceMobile has signed a new deal with Verizon to bring satellite cellular broadband across the United States, marking its most significant partnership to date and its latest move to capture a larger share of the emerging cellular satellite communications market.

Under the agreement, Verizon will integrate AST’s satellite network with its terrestrial infrastructure, using Verizon’s 850 MHz spectrum to expand coverage in remote areas where towers cannot reach. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal builds on a previous partnership between the two entities announced last year, in which Verizon committed $100 million to support the launch of AST service.

Verizon is the second major carrier to sign a contract with AST, following a 10-year agreement with Vodafone. For AST, the Verizon deal comes at a critical time as the company races to deploy its BlueBird satellite constellation designed to link directly to unmodified cell phones.

As of now, the company has successfully placed the first five BlueBird satellites into low Earth orbit, an initial “Block 1” that aims to provide “intermittent” coverage across the United States. Meanwhile, AST is assembling the next generation of satellites – “Block 2” – with plans to deploy between 45-60 satellites by 2026.

The partnership also underscores how quickly the satellite-to-cell communications market is evolving. SpaceX, through its Starlink network, has already begun rolling out its software Direct-to-cell service with T-MobileRecently, it has further strengthened its ambitions By agreeing to acquire $17 billion EchoStar’s wireless spectrum value.

AST has already demonstrated 4G and 5G communications between its satellites and smartphones, including voice and video calls, testing milestones that the company says have “proven the capabilities” of its network. But it still faces the challenge of scaling this technology to serve millions of users.

AST shares jumped more than 15% on Wednesday after the deal was announced.