en.Wedoany.com Reported - The three major U.S. carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—have announced an agreement in principle to jointly establish a joint venture focused on satellite direct-to-device (D2D) technology. The venture will provide satellite operators with access to terrestrial spectrum resources pooled from the three carriers through a unified platform, aiming to eliminate wireless dead zones across the United States, including rural areas, and provide redundant connectivity when traditional cellular networks are disrupted by extreme disasters. AT&T CEO John Stankey expressed clear support for the joint venture at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference held in Boston on May 20, and elaborated on its strategic rationale in detail for the first time.

In his remarks at the conference, Stankey first positioned the joint venture as critical infrastructure for building a healthy satellite wholesale market. He pointed out that a "fundamental" goal of the joint venture is to ensure a "robust" wholesale market exists in the satellite sector, "meaning you can procure from multiple constellations, which is a good thing because it means capacity ultimately gets delivered to customers. A robust wholesale structure keeps pricing within reasonable bounds, without any bottleneck where a single provider can dictate price." Verizon CEO Dan Schulman emphasized that the joint venture will establish a unified standard, rather than three separate sets of standards, which helps all satellite operators work collaboratively with the three carriers. Stankey added that if the three carriers each lobbied for different spectrum priorities, it would lead to market bifurcation, benefiting no one.

While clearly articulating the strategic value of the joint venture, Stankey made clear and positive remarks regarding the retention of AST SpaceMobile. He stated: "We have maintained a very good cooperative relationship with AST SpaceMobile. The technology and methods they use are unique in the direct-to-device space. I believe this will pave the way for the first product that truly delivers a seamless and intuitive consumer experience, capable of effectively scaling network coverage. We will continue down this path. We are very excited about what we will achieve in the second half of this year." AT&T maintains a long-term partnership with AST SpaceMobile in the D2D field, Verizon also cooperates with AST SpaceMobile and Skylo, while T-Mobile partners with SpaceX's Starlink Mobile and became the first U.S. carrier to launch D2D services last year. The three major carriers have explicitly stated that existing agreements between operators and satellite service providers will remain in effect, and joint venture partners can independently continue their respective connectivity-related work.

Regarding the regulatory outlook, Stankey candidly acknowledged that the joint venture will face review by the U.S. Department of Justice. He stated that the final agreement will be "very straightforward," with the CEOs of the three carriers having formulated a comprehensive term sheet, "I don't think the final agreement will be a problem." Some analysts noted that the three carriers chose to announce the formation of the joint venture on the eve of SpaceX's upcoming IPO, a sensitive timing that could raise antitrust concerns.

Viewed from the perspective of the industry chain, AT&T's "dual-track strategy" of simultaneously advancing the joint venture and the AST partnership reflects the core demands of carriers in the satellite communications market—the need to establish unified spectrum standards and a multi-vendor procurement mechanism through the joint venture to avoid market fragmentation and vendor lock-in, while also maintaining existing product roadmaps with current technology partners to ensure the timely rollout of D2D services. AST SpaceMobile currently has 6 satellites in orbit, plans to reach 45 in orbit by the end of 2026, and requires over 90 to provide full service. The formation of the joint venture provides satellite operators like AST SpaceMobile with a unified access standard, helping to reduce the cost and time window for integration with various carrier systems.

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