AT and AST SpaceMobile Achieve Industry-First Cellular Handoff Between Ground Network and Satellite in Washington State
AT&T and AST SpaceMobile successfully conducted what they believe to be the industry's first cellular handoff between a ground-based wireless network and a direct-to-device satellite network. The test took place on October 21 outside Granite Falls, Washington, at 8:15 a.m. PT. This achievement follows previous successful voice calls, text messages, and video calls made through AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites on standard smartphones. Robert Walters, SVP Network at AT&T, emphasized that this successful handoff is a significant milestone in integrating terrestrial and satellite networks to extend service to remote and hard-to-reach areas. Ericsson provided combined radio and core technology, along with network automation, to optimize these handoffs, reducing transition times from seconds to milliseconds. Nokia contributed radio access technology and mobility software for AST SpaceMobile’s space-based network.
