AT&T and AST SpaceMobile Claim First Ground-to-Satellite Handoff

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile say they have moved a phone connection from AT&T’s ground-based cellular network to AST’s satellite network, a satellite handoff the companies describe as the “industry’s first”.

AT&T announced the test in a newsroom post on 2 November, and AST SpaceMobile shared it in a post on X the same day. Ericsson and Nokia supplied supporting technology.

How the satellite handoff worked

According to AT&T, the handoff happened at 8:15am Pacific time on Wednesday 21 October, outside Granite Falls in Washington state. It builds on earlier voice calls, text messages and video calls made through AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellites with ordinary phones. This time the aim was to move a live connection between the two networks without the user noticing.

Four companies were involved. AT&T runs the ground network, and AST SpaceMobile runs the satellite network designed to connect directly to standard smartphones. Ericsson provides AT&T with combined radio and core technology and network automation to manage handoffs, which AT&T says reduces “transition times from seconds to milliseconds”. Nokia provides the radio access technology and mobility software for AST’s space-based network.

AT&T says that moving between ground and satellite coverage with other providers can mean a dropped call or an interrupted connection, and that the goal is for the network to handle the switch “behind the scenes”.

What the companies said

“The successful handoff is a significant milestone, but it’s not the finish line,” said Robert Walters, senior vice president for network at AT&T. He said the companies are progressing “toward real-world beta services and ultimately commercial service”, combining AT&T’s fibre and terrestrial wireless network with partner connectivity such as AST SpaceMobile’s. He added that AI built into AT&T’s network and operations is meant to help it anticipate needs and improve performance.

Wayne Thorsen, chief commercial officer of AST SpaceMobile, said the BlueBird network is designed to let people make calls, use apps and stream “with the smartphones they already own”. He added: “It also adds a new layer of resilience for first responders who depend on reliable communications when it matters most.”

AST SpaceMobile describes its BlueBird satellites as having “the largest communication arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit”, which is also the company’s own claim. The company says its mission is to bring 4G and 5G cellular broadband from space to standard, unmodified phones, for what it puts at nearly 6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, for both commercial and government use.

AT&T says the satellite service is designed to complement, not replace, its ground network, by extending coverage to remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Why the satellite handoff matters

Satellite-to-phone services so far have mostly worked as a separate mode that a phone falls back on when it loses a signal. A handoff that keeps a session going as a phone moves from a tower to a satellite is what would make satellite coverage feel like part of the normal network rather than an emergency extra. That is the problem this test was meant to address, and Ericsson’s claim of millisecond transitions is the key technical point.

Two caveats apply. The “industry’s first” label is the companies’ own description and has not been independently checked, and the announcement describes one test at one site. AT&T says the test used everyday smartphones rather than special satellite handsets, but it has not said which models were involved. AT&T gives no timetable for beta or commercial service.

The race for satellite-to-phone coverage is also being shaped by regulators. The US Federal Communications Commission has proposed 482 MHz more spectrum for satellite-to-phone service and has cleared Globalstar’s C-3 system for direct-to-phone use, while in Europe four telcos are exploring a joint bid for satellite-to-phone spectrum. What to watch next is when AT&T opens a beta and which phones and areas it covers.

Sources

• AT&T: AT&T and AST SpaceMobile: Engineering the Connected World, One Handoff at a Time (2 November 2026)
• @AST_SpaceMobile on X (2 November 2026)

Related stories

• FCC Proposes 482 MHz More Spectrum for Satellite-to-Phone Service
• FCC Clears Globalstar’s C-3 Satellite System for Direct-to-Phone Service
• Four EU Telcos Explore a Joint Bid for Satellite-to-Phone Spectrum