AT&T put a ring on its work with AST SpaceMobile, announcing official plans to provide a satellite-based broadband network connection to AT&T smartphones.

The “definitive commercial agreement” calls for AT&T to be able to tap into AST SpaceMobile’s soon-to-launch commercial satellites to provide broadband connectivity to what are basically standard AT&T devices. The deal is set to run until 2030.

AST SpaceMobile is scheduled to launch its first commercial satellite into low-Earth orbit (LEO) this summer, with plans to eventually have five satellites in orbit. Those satellites will use low-band spectrum AT&T is leasing to AST SpaceMobile, which is traditional cellular spectrum supported by standard mobile devices.

“Space-based direct-to-mobile technology is designed to provide customers connectivity by complementing and integrating with our existing mobile network,” AT&T COO Jeff McElfresh noted in a statement. “This agreement is the next step in our industry leadership to use emerging satellite technologies to provide services to consumers and in locations where connectivity was not previously feasible.”

The agreement will also see Chris Sambar, currently head of network for AT&T, join AST SpaceMobile’s board of directors.

AT&T entered into that long-term lease agreement with AST that will allow the satellite entity to use those spectrum assets for the private use of AT&T services. The carrier noted in a government filing that AST’s service would be able to smoothly integrate into AT&T’s current offerings.

“AST intends to provide broadband access directly to AT&T customer handsets that operate on the leased spectrum, without any modifications or the use of special chipsets, and without the buildout of any additional terrestrial wireless infrastructure,” according to the filing AT&T shared with SDxCentral. “This is expected to allow AT&T to provide space-based broadband coverage in its licensed areas, including temporary coverage following natural disasters.”

The two firms last year announced a successful 5G-based connection of voice and data services between a pair of unmodified smartphones linked by AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 test satellite. The test used 5G technology based on the 3GPP Release 16 specification.

In a separate test, AT&T, AST SpaceMobile, Vodafone and Nokia were able to stream a 5G download data link between the satellite and a terrestrial terminal at speeds up to 14 Mb/s. This surpassed a previous 4G LTE-based connection test that resulted in a 10 Mb/s space-to-ground link.

The speed mark is significant as it expands the broadband capabilities of satellite-based connections, especially as they are being looked at to support bridging the digital divide and supporting high-throughput enterprise applications like SD-WAN services. It also further opens up the possibility of traditional cellular operators tapping satellite systems to expand their 5G coverage.

AT&T’s expansion of its work with AST SpaceMobile is also significant for the satellite provider.

LEO satellite constellations typically operate relatively close to Earth at a height of less than 1,000 kilometers and are able to make a full Earth orbit in around 90 minutes. This allows a constellation to provide relatively low latency compared to satellites that operate in medium-Earth orbit (MEO) at the expense of coverage per satellite.

AST SpaceMobile is entering an increasingly competitive space that includes such heavyweights as SpaceX, which continues to launch dozens of new Starlink satellites into space. SpaceX is in the process of instatiating its Direct to Cell service and has already signed up a handful of telecommunication operators, including T-Mobile in the United States, Rogers in Canada, KDDI in Japan, Optus in Australia, One NZ in New Zealand, Salt in Switzerland, and Entel in Chile and Peru.

Research firm Analysys Mason predicts the satellite direct-to-device market will generate more than $50 billion in revenues by 2032. ABI Research is more bullish, predicting the broader satellite communications market could generate $124.6 billion in service revenues by 2030, citing opportunities like IoT, backhaul, commercial broadband and mobile satellite services.