The SpaceX IPO Put a Spotlight on Starlink -- and on the One Public Company Building a Rival Direct-to-Phone Network
Editorial Commentary — Commercial Space SeriesSpaceX's public listing cast Starlink Mobile as a future wireless challenger. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) is the most prominent publicly traded company pursuing the same direct-to-device satellite-broadband market.Key TakeawaysThe SpaceX IPO prospectus framed Starlink Mobile as a direct-to-smartphone service intended to compete with terrestrial mobile networks — spotlighting a market that public investors cannot access through SpaceX alone.AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is the most prominent listed company building a direct-to-device satellite-broadband network, connecting ordinary, unmodified smartphones from space.AST has reported securing ov