I’d be willing to pay around $20 a month for that kind of service, especially since I love to travel and hike. Never getting stranded again? Totally worth it. Cheers!
I have a family with 4 cell plans. And the youngest will have a cell plan in a few years too. Please don't price this at $20/line! Or perhaps do, and they can make a $50/family plan option. I'd be fine with that. But $100 for supplemental coverage is a psychological barrier for me. $50 is less than an extra tank of gas. No biggie.
I would imagine there will be a variety of options from MNO's since most customers will only use the service a few days in a year and will want to just pay for data by the GB...where as some customers will use it everyday and will want a montly plan
I am in that same boat with hiking and traveling. Even commuting home from work I often want to use the cellphone, and I can't tell you how frustrating it is to have to interrupt conversation to be like, "Oh can you wait like 5-10 minutes before we can continue."
Thanks for the response.
One of the best parts of the business model is that AST relies upon the MNO’s to set the pricing. They know each customer segment well and have the incentive to maximize revenue and profits. I suspect we will see a variety of pricing options and an evolution as they experiment and as capacity is limited in the early years.
I personally am in the $5/month range as it would be convenient but not essential. I’d want an option to pay for more data for periodic trips.
I don’t believe that is true. Fortunately we don’t have to worry because I believe it is safe to assume that between AT&T and Verizon they will figure out how to maximize their profits from this new feature. Both companies are very eager to find features that customers are willing to pay extra for.
I personally try to be conservative in my modeling of revenue potential. I tend to focus on the total number of GB’s per satellite (block 2’s) per month and estimated revenue per GB. I believe the block 2’s will enable a minimum of 1 million GB’s per month and likely far more. I also believe the effective retail price per GB of satellite data is likely to be $4+. Using those figures I believe that AST can pay for each BB in 10 months or less for an asset that lasts 7-10 years. 💰🌳!
While that pricing approach is legitimate I would think there would be a premium on their GB’s because it is special application with little to no competition.
I am not a tech expert, so, IDK, just speculating on how business products would normally be priced based on demand, supply, application, competition, etc.
I suspect that many MNO's around the world will sell much small amounts of data (\~200 MB or 500MB/month) at prices that are substantially higher on a per GB basis. That said, no need to overthink it. Better to be conservative with financial forecasting.
The REAL upside for AST is to enhance the designs over time (and work with the handset manufacturers plus Nokia to optimize the quality of the connections as v18 of 3GPP is rolled out. That is the first version that was build to really support NTN connections. By improving the quality of the connection they can increase the total amount of data sent/received for every device. That way you can keep the retail price low and increase revenue just by moving more data.
Keep an eye on Cohere Technologies to see what is coming for 6G as well. You can also look at my Xitter timeline for some threads where I talk about Cohere and OTFS. That is the magical math that will make satellites traveling at 17,000 mph look like they are standing still. Massive opportunity many years in the future.
Here are some of my more recent thoughts. This is a conservative view of things and the numbers are still insanely great on the total # of GB's/month they will be able to enable. It will take some time to increase the number of countries with regulatory approval but BB 1-5 should help speed that along so by the time the block 2's are rolling out they should have more countries that are ready to utilize the service.
[https://x.com/no\_privacy/status/1802806804209885620](https://x.com/no_privacy/status/1802806804209885620)
Surely they won't stop launching satellites at full-constellation, either. As costs come down and tech progresses, they won't want an idle factory where the skills are lost. Like trying to rebuild the Saturn rockets.
This is a solid comment. I wonder how MNOs decide on what to charge. I can't wait to see more marketing for the product eventually. Btw, how did you get the SPACEMOB flare?
Thanks! If you follow me on Xitter you can see many more of my threads on $ASTS. For the MNO's, selling coverage (minutes, texts, GM's) per day/week/month is bread and butter. They have lots of different pricing plans and they know that satellite coverage is very valuable. I inherently trust them to monetize it well and to learn and improve over time.
As for the flair, I think they were giving it out around the time BW3 launched or unfolded. Long before the pain that came from dilution and delays!
I live in the city and rarely really venture out of service so I would not want to staple on any additional fees for supplemental coverage from space. However, I would gladly pay for temporary passes for when I need the service such as on a plane or to use as my roaming plan when I travel internationally.
Given that my plane ride last month offered low data wifi for $25, I’d gladly pay $10 to $20 for this service on a plane.
I'm working at remote locations (checking pipelines in the middle of nowhere, mostly alone) so I rarely have any connection at all, so I (or rather my company) would pay a good sum to stay connected with the engineers in the field ($50+)
This is what pays for it: government and businesses. What you do, emergency services, transport companies. Then it'll eventually get more capacity and it'll be marketed to sales guys who would just prefer 100% coverage. And eventually, consumers camping.
Great point. Like any early stage tech, it'll make the most sense where it helps make money. The travel/camping enthusiasts are also going to be there. They just won't be as prevalent as the sales guy who tells his boss he's losing sales when his calls drop when he's on the road.
I believe there will be different price levels in addition to the original classic plan. for example, you can add $5 for total basic coverage for satellite messages (e.g. 20 messages included + $0.5 per additional message), $10 for limited coverage everywhere in 5G (e.g. 10GB included + $2 for each additional GB), add $20 on the personal plan to have everything included.
I rarely hit dead zones in my day to day but when I do it’s very annoying. I’d easily still pay/not care to pay $5 a month to have it as a service whenever I need it. $5-10 a month is throw away money for peace of mind
Yeah it seems unfathomable to me that in the future people spending time in more remote areas would be subject to dead zones, given advances to satellite tech. Hoping it comes sooner than later.
The service I have today in Germany is about 40€ per month for more talk time than I'll ever use, and 20GB of data. I'd pay 5€ a month to effectively be guaranteed coverage just in the EU.
If Voda could guarantee ASTS access in its Group 2 countries (which would require each of those carriers to also be ASTS customers), I'd pay 10€ a month premium.
For our VIP users who travel a lot, paying about 75€ per month for Unlimited data, if they had ASTS access in all Voda roaming countries, to where there's effectively UBIQUITOUS coverage even capped at say the first 20GB, I imagine we'd be willing to pay a 20€ or more premium.
On specific days that I absolutely need service for my business in spotty areas, I'd be willing to pay upwards of $25-50/day to guarantee all my calls come through and general email access.
I pay $20/month for my subscription to Zoleo Satellite, so for AST it'd be around the same. Though I think I'm in somewhat of a unique use case as I hike a lot and spend lots of time in areas without service.
If you have a Wi-Fi connection (via any means, not necessarily Starlink) then, with most larger cellular carriers (I believe, though I =know= AT&T) you can get a free service from them to allow seamless "Talk Over Wi-Fi". That service (from AT&T) is great - anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection you can use the service (no need to do anything each time, just use it) and you will have a cellular connection where there is no cellular service. That is, you can call anyone via that person's phone number as if you have a cellular connection, someone "out there" on the cellular network can call you as if you have a cellular connection, you can also send and receive SMS/MMS as if you have a cellular connection, AND the "5G" connectivity probably puts to shame any ACTUAL cellular 5G because YOUR connection is via Wi-Fi.
I use this service all the time while at home (since my direct cellular connectivity comes and goes) and see no functional difference from a regular cellular connection other than fantastic signal strength and VERY fast data speeds. If you're away from a Wi-Fi hotspot your phone will use regular cellular connectivity and, if you happen to go into a Wi-Fi area that you're allowed to use (like a coffeeshop) your phone will switch to Talk Over Wi-Fi as soon as you access that hotspot.
Anyway, if you're talking already having Wi-Fi but waiting for ANY cellular connectivity, DON'T - you can have very good bidirectional cellular connectivity via YOUR carrier by simply enabling Talk Over Wi-Fi on your phone and with your carrier.
Look into it.
Here's a partial screenshot of my Android phone's display (click to view larger) showing the fan-shaped Talk Over Wi-Fi icon (as well as an unusually strong regular cellular connection! This connectivity is not used as long as Wi-Fi strength is good); the phone is using Talk Over Wi-Fi for all cellular connectivity via my wireless router connected to my ISP (at 500+ Mbps) then via the internet to/from my cellular carrier AT&T for interaction with the regular cellular network:
https://preview.redd.it/ajxm5ee9lq9d1.jpeg?width=1052&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45ce8b0151c516fb6918a9261fb3391fd5aa9375
On Verizon, I pay $5 per month for discounted international calling. When I’m traveling internationally, I pay $10 per day for up to 2GB of data. Probably $100 per year of travel charges.
I would gladly pay the same for supplemental satellite service without thinking twice.
I’d be willing to pay around $20 a month for that kind of service, especially since I love to travel and hike. Never getting stranded again? Totally worth it. Cheers!
I have a family with 4 cell plans. And the youngest will have a cell plan in a few years too. Please don't price this at $20/line! Or perhaps do, and they can make a $50/family plan option. I'd be fine with that. But $100 for supplemental coverage is a psychological barrier for me. $50 is less than an extra tank of gas. No biggie.
I would imagine there will be a variety of options from MNO's since most customers will only use the service a few days in a year and will want to just pay for data by the GB...where as some customers will use it everyday and will want a montly plan
I am in that same boat with hiking and traveling. Even commuting home from work I often want to use the cellphone, and I can't tell you how frustrating it is to have to interrupt conversation to be like, "Oh can you wait like 5-10 minutes before we can continue." Thanks for the response.
One of the best parts of the business model is that AST relies upon the MNO’s to set the pricing. They know each customer segment well and have the incentive to maximize revenue and profits. I suspect we will see a variety of pricing options and an evolution as they experiment and as capacity is limited in the early years. I personally am in the $5/month range as it would be convenient but not essential. I’d want an option to pay for more data for periodic trips.
If I recall it was AT&T that said they would charge $2-4/mo to customers? Someone fact check me?
I don’t believe that is true. Fortunately we don’t have to worry because I believe it is safe to assume that between AT&T and Verizon they will figure out how to maximize their profits from this new feature. Both companies are very eager to find features that customers are willing to pay extra for. I personally try to be conservative in my modeling of revenue potential. I tend to focus on the total number of GB’s per satellite (block 2’s) per month and estimated revenue per GB. I believe the block 2’s will enable a minimum of 1 million GB’s per month and likely far more. I also believe the effective retail price per GB of satellite data is likely to be $4+. Using those figures I believe that AST can pay for each BB in 10 months or less for an asset that lasts 7-10 years. 💰🌳!
While that pricing approach is legitimate I would think there would be a premium on their GB’s because it is special application with little to no competition. I am not a tech expert, so, IDK, just speculating on how business products would normally be priced based on demand, supply, application, competition, etc.
I suspect that many MNO's around the world will sell much small amounts of data (\~200 MB or 500MB/month) at prices that are substantially higher on a per GB basis. That said, no need to overthink it. Better to be conservative with financial forecasting. The REAL upside for AST is to enhance the designs over time (and work with the handset manufacturers plus Nokia to optimize the quality of the connections as v18 of 3GPP is rolled out. That is the first version that was build to really support NTN connections. By improving the quality of the connection they can increase the total amount of data sent/received for every device. That way you can keep the retail price low and increase revenue just by moving more data. Keep an eye on Cohere Technologies to see what is coming for 6G as well. You can also look at my Xitter timeline for some threads where I talk about Cohere and OTFS. That is the magical math that will make satellites traveling at 17,000 mph look like they are standing still. Massive opportunity many years in the future.
I will look at that, I saw something (article ???) regarding Cohere recently. Thanks for the information. Good luck !!!!
They added someone to their board from Cohere I believe
Do you have a financial forecast or model you’ve developed that you’d share? Thinking of doing one myself also
Here are some of my more recent thoughts. This is a conservative view of things and the numbers are still insanely great on the total # of GB's/month they will be able to enable. It will take some time to increase the number of countries with regulatory approval but BB 1-5 should help speed that along so by the time the block 2's are rolling out they should have more countries that are ready to utilize the service. [https://x.com/no\_privacy/status/1802806804209885620](https://x.com/no_privacy/status/1802806804209885620)
Surely they won't stop launching satellites at full-constellation, either. As costs come down and tech progresses, they won't want an idle factory where the skills are lost. Like trying to rebuild the Saturn rockets.
Reference: https://advanced-television.com/2024/06/27/att-firmly-backs-ast-spacemobile/
That website just takes content from Xitter posts. It is not real reporting. Someone was speculating about what AT&T would charge.
Thanks for clarifying!
This is a solid comment. I wonder how MNOs decide on what to charge. I can't wait to see more marketing for the product eventually. Btw, how did you get the SPACEMOB flare?
Thanks! If you follow me on Xitter you can see many more of my threads on $ASTS. For the MNO's, selling coverage (minutes, texts, GM's) per day/week/month is bread and butter. They have lots of different pricing plans and they know that satellite coverage is very valuable. I inherently trust them to monetize it well and to learn and improve over time. As for the flair, I think they were giving it out around the time BW3 launched or unfolded. Long before the pain that came from dilution and delays!
I live in the city and rarely really venture out of service so I would not want to staple on any additional fees for supplemental coverage from space. However, I would gladly pay for temporary passes for when I need the service such as on a plane or to use as my roaming plan when I travel internationally. Given that my plane ride last month offered low data wifi for $25, I’d gladly pay $10 to $20 for this service on a plane.
I'm working at remote locations (checking pipelines in the middle of nowhere, mostly alone) so I rarely have any connection at all, so I (or rather my company) would pay a good sum to stay connected with the engineers in the field ($50+)
This is what pays for it: government and businesses. What you do, emergency services, transport companies. Then it'll eventually get more capacity and it'll be marketed to sales guys who would just prefer 100% coverage. And eventually, consumers camping.
Great point. Like any early stage tech, it'll make the most sense where it helps make money. The travel/camping enthusiasts are also going to be there. They just won't be as prevalent as the sales guy who tells his boss he's losing sales when his calls drop when he's on the road.
I believe there will be different price levels in addition to the original classic plan. for example, you can add $5 for total basic coverage for satellite messages (e.g. 20 messages included + $0.5 per additional message), $10 for limited coverage everywhere in 5G (e.g. 10GB included + $2 for each additional GB), add $20 on the personal plan to have everything included.
I rarely hit dead zones in my day to day but when I do it’s very annoying. I’d easily still pay/not care to pay $5 a month to have it as a service whenever I need it. $5-10 a month is throw away money for peace of mind
As a construction worker who works mainly on outskirts of city or remote areas. This would be amazing for those weeklong stays with no service
Yeah it seems unfathomable to me that in the future people spending time in more remote areas would be subject to dead zones, given advances to satellite tech. Hoping it comes sooner than later.
The service I have today in Germany is about 40€ per month for more talk time than I'll ever use, and 20GB of data. I'd pay 5€ a month to effectively be guaranteed coverage just in the EU. If Voda could guarantee ASTS access in its Group 2 countries (which would require each of those carriers to also be ASTS customers), I'd pay 10€ a month premium. For our VIP users who travel a lot, paying about 75€ per month for Unlimited data, if they had ASTS access in all Voda roaming countries, to where there's effectively UBIQUITOUS coverage even capped at say the first 20GB, I imagine we'd be willing to pay a 20€ or more premium.
[удалено]
Especially for maps and GPS!
On specific days that I absolutely need service for my business in spotty areas, I'd be willing to pay upwards of $25-50/day to guarantee all my calls come through and general email access.
100 a month, maybe 120 a month. I live in a place with 2 bad options. Debated doing starlink for 200 a month, but too many trees
Great point 👍🏻
I pay $20/month for my subscription to Zoleo Satellite, so for AST it'd be around the same. Though I think I'm in somewhat of a unique use case as I hike a lot and spend lots of time in areas without service.
I pay ~$150 for Starlink WIFI for my remote adventures so I’d easily spend $20-39 p/month for this extra layer of coverage
If you have a Wi-Fi connection (via any means, not necessarily Starlink) then, with most larger cellular carriers (I believe, though I =know= AT&T) you can get a free service from them to allow seamless "Talk Over Wi-Fi". That service (from AT&T) is great - anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection you can use the service (no need to do anything each time, just use it) and you will have a cellular connection where there is no cellular service. That is, you can call anyone via that person's phone number as if you have a cellular connection, someone "out there" on the cellular network can call you as if you have a cellular connection, you can also send and receive SMS/MMS as if you have a cellular connection, AND the "5G" connectivity probably puts to shame any ACTUAL cellular 5G because YOUR connection is via Wi-Fi. I use this service all the time while at home (since my direct cellular connectivity comes and goes) and see no functional difference from a regular cellular connection other than fantastic signal strength and VERY fast data speeds. If you're away from a Wi-Fi hotspot your phone will use regular cellular connectivity and, if you happen to go into a Wi-Fi area that you're allowed to use (like a coffeeshop) your phone will switch to Talk Over Wi-Fi as soon as you access that hotspot. Anyway, if you're talking already having Wi-Fi but waiting for ANY cellular connectivity, DON'T - you can have very good bidirectional cellular connectivity via YOUR carrier by simply enabling Talk Over Wi-Fi on your phone and with your carrier. Look into it. Here's a partial screenshot of my Android phone's display (click to view larger) showing the fan-shaped Talk Over Wi-Fi icon (as well as an unusually strong regular cellular connection! This connectivity is not used as long as Wi-Fi strength is good); the phone is using Talk Over Wi-Fi for all cellular connectivity via my wireless router connected to my ISP (at 500+ Mbps) then via the internet to/from my cellular carrier AT&T for interaction with the regular cellular network: https://preview.redd.it/ajxm5ee9lq9d1.jpeg?width=1052&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45ce8b0151c516fb6918a9261fb3391fd5aa9375
$5
In before someone comes along pretending a 50/50 service revenue split is proclaimed as facts.
On Verizon, I pay $5 per month for discounted international calling. When I’m traveling internationally, I pay $10 per day for up to 2GB of data. Probably $100 per year of travel charges. I would gladly pay the same for supplemental satellite service without thinking twice.
My wife and I are on premium Verizon plans. I'd shell out another $15-20 per line for this service.
I probably spend £200-300 a month on local sims while travelling and still have dead zones so I’d happily pay £40-50 a month for this kind of service
Some pricing info from Vodafone UK for their Global Roaming plan; https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/global-roaming
Att has hinted it will be an additional $2 per month.
Incorrect. No communication from AT&T abt pricing. I would be very surprised if they price it that low
https://x.com/TheRealArcomas/status/1805644566277574777
Source: https://advanced-television.com/2024/06/27/att-firmly-backs-ast-spacemobile/ Not sure how reliable. Have never heard of this website
This just repost Xitter content with no validation. Machine generated content like this is wrong.
Thx for fact check