IARU reports the FCC has granted AST SpaceMobile limited use of the 430–440 MHz amateur radio band. The license grants use of amateur radio spectrum for emergency purposes only.
On August 29th, 2025, the FCC Space Bureau did grant a license to AST & Science LLC (operating as AST Space Mobile) for using the 430–440 MHz amateur radio allocation for TT&C1 operations for 20 additional satellites.
IARU relays that the volume of comments filed by amateur radio organizations and operators contributed to the limited grant by the FCC Space Bureau. IARU continues to maintain that AST SpaceMobile has failed to show a legitimate need to utilize amateur radio spectrum.
“The telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) subsystem of a satellite provides a connection between the satellite itself and the facilities on the ground.” ↩︎
