10 Firms Buck Market Slump on Impressive Earnings, New Deals

4. AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile jumped for a second day on Friday, adding 11.15 percent to close at $20.24 apiece after securing the Special Temporary Authority approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would enable the company to test its first five commercial BlueBird satellites.

FCC’s approval would support AST SpaceMobile’s voice, full data, and video applications and other native cellular broadband capabilities for AT&T and Verizon.

“The FCC USA regulatory approvals represent a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile as we advance toward delivering seamless space-based cellular broadband connectivity,” said Vikram Raval Global Head of Regulatory Affairs of AST SpaceMobile.

For his part, AST SpaceMobile Chief Commercial Officer Chris Ivory said: “Alongside integration efforts with partner networks we are installing five gateways in the United States, and we are now accelerating our path to commercial activity, starting with testing service with off-the-shelf cellular handsets on AT&T and Verizon networks.”