By Sue Marek
AT&T CEO John Stankey confirmed that the operator is partnering with AST SpaceMobile to provide connectivity in dead zones in the U.S. and said that AT&T is about 18 months ahead of competitor T-Mobile, which announced in August that was working with SpaceX on a similar satellite-to-cellular connectivity service to provide coverage in dead zones.
In a Bloomberg article, Stankey said that initially the satellite service will be for emergencies, including providing connectivity for FirstNet, the company's public safety network. But AT&T also plans to launch a consumer application that would incorporate the satellite connectivity, Stankey said.
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