Investing.com -- AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) shares rose 3.5% Monday morning after the company announced progress on its space-based cellular broadband network in Europe through collaboration with major mobile network operator partners.

The company said Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone signed a Letter of Intent to explore a potential joint bid for Mobile Satellite Services spectrum as AST SpaceMobile advances service readiness across Europe.

The collaboration among Europe’s four largest mobile network operators is expected to accelerate network integration and extend coverage into areas without reliable mobile connectivity. The initiative supports a coordinated approach to spectrum access and service deployment while enabling operators to deliver space-based cellular broadband through their existing mobile services.

AST SpaceMobile is providing a dedicated network of European-operated ground infrastructure that links its BlueBird satellites with mobile operators’ core networks. The infrastructure is designed to support coverage across Europe, a market with over 500 million mobile subscribers, while keeping data handling and service control within European jurisdiction.

The company’s BlueBird satellites connect directly to standard smartphones. AST SpaceMobile has demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps, with next-generation satellites expected to deliver peak data rates approaching 200 Mbps.

The company’s satellite technology can tune across approximately 1,150 MHz of mobile network operator partners’ low- and mid-band spectrum globally. Together with AST SpaceMobile’s S-band priority rights, this flexibility enables the company to combine participating operators’ spectrum with satellite spectrum to support expanded coverage and capacity in European markets, subject to applicable authorizations.

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