The competition to deliver satellite-based phone connections is getting nasty, with SpaceX accusing AST SpaceMobile of a misinformation campaign. The

SpaceX accuses 'meme-stock' rival of 'misinformation' over Starlink signals waiver

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2024-10-04 16:30:10

The competition to deliver satellite-based phone connections is getting nasty, with SpaceX accusing AST SpaceMobile of a misinformation campaign.

The spat pertains to efforts by SpaceX to get US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to ease out-of-band emission restrictions on signals, something that numerous telcos - including among AST SpaceMobile customers - aren't keen on.

In a letter [PDF] filed this week with FCC, SpaceX's VP of Satellite Policy, David Goldman, claims AST and its investors "continue their scorched-Earth campaign to hamstring competing direct-to-cellular operations," dismissing their efforts as "meme-stock."

The SpaceX letter also highlights the recent disastrous floods in the US following Hurricane Helene, and reckons AST is "stopping at nothing to slow progress" of rolling out supplemental coverage from satellites that would provide communications during natural disasters and support first responders.

The history to this? Elon Musk's space biz submitted a request to the FCC for a waiver concerning out-of-band emission limits on signal in 2022. SpaceX claims it needs this for Starlink satellites to be able to fully operate the direct-to-cell service it plans to offer with T-Mobile US.