MIDLAND, Texas and ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar – On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, Axian Telecom and AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASTS) announced a landmark partnership to deploy Africa’s first space-based cellular broadband network.
Operating under Axian’s unified Yas brand, the service will provide 4G LTE and 5G connectivity directly to standard, unmodified smartphones across remote, maritime, and aviation zones where terrestrial infrastructure is currently non-existent.
Closing the Digital Divide via D2D Technology
The partnership is a cornerstone of Axian Telecom’s “Data4All” strategy, targeting the persistent digital divide in its key markets. As of late 2025, industry data from the GSMA indicated that approximately 9% of Africa’s population still lacked any mobile internet coverage. By integrating AST SpaceMobile’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation with the Yas core network, Axian aims to provide ubiquitous coverage to its 43.1 million mobile subscribers without requiring customers to purchase specialized satellite hardware.
This collaboration follows a series of major D2D milestones for AST SpaceMobile, including the successful September 2024 launch of its first five commercial BlueBird satellites and the recent strategic investment from Google and AT&T.
Technical Integration and System Capabilities
The BlueBird constellation utilizes the largest-ever commercial phased array antennas in LEO (approximately 2,400 square feet) to overcome the signal attenuation challenges of connecting to standard handheld devices.
- Network Integration: AST SpaceMobile’s satellite signals will be routed through Yas core systems in Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo, and Comoros.
- Service Types: The agreement covers voice, video, data, and IoT applications.
- Activation: Customers will be able to activate the “SpaceMobile” service via a simple one-click prompt when they move out of terrestrial range.
Executive Commentary
“Partnering with AST SpaceMobile gives us the ability to close that gap in a way that was not possible before,” said Hassan Jaber, CEO of Axian Telecom. “Their technology is genuinely different: it works with the phones people already own, which means we can reach underserved communities without asking them to do anything differently.”
“Together with Yas, we are bringing space-based cellular broadband to people and communities beyond the reach of traditional infrastructure,” added Scott Wisniewski, President of AST SpaceMobile.
Implementation Roadmap and Market Competition
The service will be rolled out progressively following regulatory approvals in each of Axian’s operational markets. AST SpaceMobile is currently scaling its manufacturing to meet a 2026 goal of deploying 45 to 60 Block 2 BlueBird satellites, which will be launched in tranches of eight aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn-3.
The African D2D market is becoming increasingly competitive. This announcement follows Orange’s March 2 decision to adopt a multi-vendor satellite strategy (including AST and Starlink) and Vodafone/Vodacom’s expansion of its partnership with Amazon’s Project Kuiper earlier this week.
