{"title":"AST SpaceMobile vs SES: Communications constellations compared","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/compare/ast-spacemobile-vs-ses","comparison":"AST SpaceMobile ranks 11 on the Space 100 with a score of 85; SES ranks 39 with 77. AST SpaceMobile is ahead on production, technology and firepower. SES is ahead on commercials. Level on deployment, progress, positioning and leverage. AST SpaceMobile is based in Midland, United States, SES in Betzdorf, Luxembourg. AST SpaceMobile: Public, founded 2017. SES: Established. AST SpaceMobile is named in 58 signals and SES in 75.","companies":[{"name":"AST SpaceMobile","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/ast-spacemobile","city":"Midland","country":"United States","stage":"Public","founded":2017,"last_round":null,"positioning":"AST SpaceMobile is a US direct-to-device satellite company (Nasdaq:ASTS) with 13 BlueBird satellites in orbit (targeting ~45 by early 2027) and production ramping toward six satellites a month, with FY26 revenue guidance of $150-200M (Q2-26 revenue $31.5M against a $230.9M net loss). It holds $1.30B in contracted backlog, 60+ mobile-operator partnerships covering 3B+ subscribers, and $3.7B+ in liquidity, with consumer beta targeted for later 2026. A setback came in April 2026 when BlueBird-7 was stranded in an off-nominal orbit by a New Glenn second-stage anomaly (powered on and being assessed).","assessed_in":{"domain":"Space","list":"Space 100","rank":11,"score":85,"tier":"member","scores":{"leverage":8,"position":8,"progress":9,"firepower":10,"commercial":6,"deployment":9,"production":8,"technology":8},"why":"AST SpaceMobile sells direct-to-mobile satellite communications through the BlueBird network to telecom partners and their subscribers.","segment":"Communications constellations","layer":"Satellites & spacecraft"},"signals_total":58,"facts_total":172},{"name":"SES","url":"https://www.frontiertechintelligence.com/companies/ses","city":"Betzdorf","country":"Luxembourg","stage":"Established","founded":null,"last_round":null,"positioning":"SES is a Luxembourg multi-orbit satellite operator (>EUR 3.5B class after completing its Intelsat acquisition in 2025) running a GEO fleet plus the O3b mPOWER MEO constellation, the consolidation move of the operator sector with Intelsat integration underway. K2 Space is building an initial 30-satellite MEO network for it, and it partners with Eutelsat OneWeb on airline multi-orbit deals. Current figures are verified-light this pass (a dedicated results pass owed).","assessed_in":{"domain":"Space","list":"Space 100","rank":39,"score":77,"tier":"member","scores":{"gate_ne":["firepower"],"leverage":8,"position":8,"progress":9,"firepower":8,"commercial":8,"deployment":9,"production":6,"technology":6},"why":"SES operates GEO and MEO satellite networks, including O3b mPOWER, and sells connectivity to broadband, direct-to-device, maritime, government, defense and media customers.","segment":"Communications constellations","layer":"Satellites & spacecraft"},"signals_total":75,"facts_total":110}],"note":"Assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence; facts and signals carry their sources."}