Articles from Rakuten Group, Inc. and AST SpaceMobile, Inc.

Rakuten Group, Inc. and AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, agreed to establish Rakuten AST, Inc. on November 6, 2026 (Japan Standard Time)*1. The joint venture is tasked with building a direct-to-device communications network in Japan using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide service to commercially available smartphones, strengthening Japan’s communications infrastructure in the event of disasters and other emergencies.