Kook's Weekly - Is SpaceX Bluffing About Its T-Mobile Phone War?

Three more Blue Bird satellites just reached orbit, and $ASTS now covers 80% of Europe's mobile subscribers.Kook breaks down last week's successful launch and the growing confidence that AST SpaceMobile's launch cadence, not satellite production, is now the real story. He digs into a Meta working session hint, the near-final J-LEO deal with Rakuten in Japan, a fresh spectrum license, and a buried press release revealing integration testing with Deutsche Telekom, the 51% owner of T-Mobile. Kook also covers the FCC's push to clear the path for direct-to-cell, SpaceX's shaky terrestrial phone ambitions after its first earnings call, and Viasat's dumpster-fire quarter that shows just how fast satellite direct-to-cell is eating legacy revenue. All eyes now turn to AST SpaceMobile's earnings call this Monday for more on financials and launch visibility.00:00 Introduction and crazy travel schedule01:05 Recap of last week's successful 3-satellite launch02:32 Launch cadence and timing for the next launch03:46 Abel's comments on the platform's growing capabilities05:38 Brendan Carr and the FCC clearing the path for DTC06:24 Jennifer Manner joins the FCC's Technological Advisory Council07:35 SpaceX's tweet and Gary Tan's reaction09:21 Vinod S teases Meta working session with $ASTS11:11 J-LEO update and Japan spectrum license12:53 Cat's Y spectrum thread13:19 Blue Origin's valve failure and retrofit update15:12 SpaceX share unlock shakes out shorts16:05 SpaceX's first earnings call and omni-connectivity17:42 Debating SpaceX's terrestrial MNO ambitions19:59 Tim Farrar's posturing theory on SpaceX vs T-Mobile21:24 Piper Sandler turns incrementally bullish on $ASTS22:02 Deutsche Telekom integration testing revealed24:05 Battery Commodity: 80% of Europe's subscribers covered27:32 Viasat's dumpster fire earnings call29:02 Previewing Monday's $ASTS earnings call🎙️ Catch all episodes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5u6rTxenTvGw4STNbjswAk👋 Connect with the host on X: https://x.com/thekookreport👕 Get the Gear: https://spacemob.printify.me📩 AST SpaceMobile Podcast Newsletter: https://ast-spacemobile-podcast.beehiiv.com/