$550M for Air and Ambiguity

AST Buys Into Ligado’s Bankruptcy Baggage for a Slice of the Sky

Well, well, well. What do you do when you’re a startup with ambitious satellite dreams and your neighbor’s legal dumpster fire is smoldering? If you’re AST SpaceMobile, you hand over $550 million to bankrupt Ligado Networks.

Yes, the same Ligado Networks that spent the last decade picking fights with the Department of Defense over GPS interference, suing Inmarsat for not updating old terminals, and nose-diving into bankruptcy, is now the proud conduit through which AST will beam high-speed satellite internet to unsuspecting iPhones. The twist? AST’s payments to Inmarsat, $535 million of them, are being fronted with a non-recourse loan. Translation: if this all gets blocked by regulators, AST just walks away like it never happened. Smart? Maybe. Risky? Oh, absolutely.

The deal gives AST access to: Up to 40 MHz of L-band MSS spectrum in the U.S. and Canada (Ligado’s prized but controversy-ridden assets), An additional 5 MHz in the 1670–1675 MHz band in the U.S. & Public endorsement from Inmarsat to help AST charm the FCC and ISED into giving them a green light for NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit) use.

Let’s not ignore the absurdity: this is the largest contiguous block of premium nationwide spectrum available in the U.S., gifted to a company that just launched its first batch of satellites and is still in beta mode. AST’s current five “BlueBird” satellites (each 700 sq ft) offer sporadic coverage and spotty service. But they’re planning next-gen “Block 2” monsters with 2,400 sq ft arrays to deliver up to 120 Mbps, straight to smartphones. Because watching TikTok while kayaking in Alaska is now a national priority.

Meanwhile, Ligado wipes away $7.8 billion in debt, keeps $15 million in cash, and calls it restructuring. Inmarsat, fresh off its merger with Viasat, walks away with over half a billion dollars and drops its lawsuits, effectively monetizing what was previously just… a spectrum squabble.

And let’s not gloss over the fact that AST’s plan requires: Regulatory sign-offs from FCC and ISED, not trivial, especially with the GPS/Govt interference baggage & Continued financial tap dancing, including multiple pre-closing payments totaling $535M, to be covered via a special-purpose financing vehicle that only activates after approvals. No pressure.

But the real prize here? AST’s play to beam satellite internet directly to smartphones, no dishes, no nonsense. They’ve already got five birds in the sky, aiming for 120 Mbps straight to your iPhone while you hike through Wi-Fi purgatory. More satellites launch every month or two. It’s ambitious. It’s risky. It’s also one regulatory rejection away from becoming the world’s most expensive game of “let’s pretend.”

Oh, and let’s not forget the agreement runs through 2107. Yes, AST has secured spectrum rights that’ll still be valid when humans are commuting to work via jetpack, or post-climate-apocalypse scavenger carts.