Why T-Mobile Is Scrubbing Starlink Before an ASTS Deal

<p>AST SpaceMobile&#39;s BlueBird 11 came in nominal and batch 3 is in orbit. Kook breaks down the ASTS T-Mobile deal bet and more.</p><p><br></p><p>Kook opens by reacting to the news that BlueBird 11 was nominal, walking through the competing theories about whether the satellite was stuck and why the deployment record for AST SpaceMobile stays perfect. He argues the flawless execution reflects a military-grade approach to testing and reliability, and covers the launch of batch 3 (BlueBirds 14, 15 and 16) on another SpaceX flight, with more launches expected soon.</p><p><br></p><p>Kook then lays out why he believes a T-Mobile deal is imminent, pointing to the completed MNO joint venture, T-Mobile scrubbing Starlink content from its website, new FCC filings, Grain spectrum, and the Ligado docket. He also explains why he sees Viasat and other would-be direct-to-cell competitors as lacking the people, prime contractors, designs and regulatory approvals to compete with ASTS.</p><p><br></p><p>The episode wraps with Sirius XM&#39;s COO joining the company, the vertical opportunity of tracking cows over direct-to-cell, satellites in the military kill chain, M&amp;A hiring, and how ASTS stock has returned about 35% a year since the SPAC despite a 90% drawdown.</p><p><br></p><p>00:00 Introduction and sound check</p><p>00:38 BlueBird 11 nominal reaction</p><p>01:43 Perfect deployment record</p><p>04:01 The Kill Chain and military-grade assets</p><p>06:54 Abel&#39;s execution and team</p><p>08:56 Batch 3 launch BlueBird 14-16</p><p>10:54 Delays and the retail investor</p><p>12:31 Why competitors lack people</p><p>15:15 MNO joint venture and T-Mobile bet</p><p>17:19 T-Mobile scrubs Starlink</p><p>18:47 Mongolia and bear claims</p><p>21:22 Tracking cows and vertical TAM</p><p>24:57 Sirius XM COO joins ASTS</p><p>27:14 Spectrum, FCC and Ligado/Grain</p><p>30:03 Viasat leadership concerns</p><p>31:52 Iridium and Ligado docket</p><p>33:11 Satellites and the kill chain</p><p>36:18 M&amp;A hiring and SpaceX</p><p>38:49 ASTS returns since the SPAC</p><p>40:30 Closing and stablecoin research</p><p><br></p><p>🎙️ Catch all episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5u6rTxenTvGw4STNbjswAk</p><p>👋 Connect with the host on X: https://x.com/thekookreport</p><p>👕 Get the Gear: https://spacemob.printify.me/</p><p><br></p><p>#astspacemobile #TMobile #BlueBird</p>