Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite firm AST SpaceMobile has announced a settlement term sheet with Ligado Networks LLC, Viasat Inc, and Inmarsat Global Limited, enabling long-term access to up to 45MHz of lower mid-band spectrum in North America for direct-to-device satellite applications.

Once ratified, the agreement will unlock additional capabilities for AST’s assets, joining up the permissions to use premium spectrum with a large space-based network to enable superior penetration and coverage characteristics.

AST SpaceMobile declined to comment on the proceedings.

As a result of Ligado’s ongoing bankruptcy restructuring, the term sheet provides terms on Inmarsat’s support for AST SpaceMobile receiving spectrum usage rights for 80+ years to up to 40MHz of L-band MSS spectrum in the US and Canada, and an additional 5MHz in the 1670-1675MHz band in the US, both held by Ligado.

Ligado’s restructuring plan calls for converting $7.8 billion in debt into equity, reducing its future debt to $1.2bn. Spokespeople from the company, unwilling to be identified, have confirmed rumours that the company is seeking bankruptcy court approvals to appear later this month.

Inmarsat also agrees to provide affirmative support for AST’s regulatory applications to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) department in Canada that seek the power to operate a non-geostationary (NGSO) system in the L-band mid-band in North America.

These terms supplement agreements between AST and Ligado agreed in 2025, but the new term sheet remains subject to court approval, which is expected before the end of June. AST’s obligation to begin making spectrum access usage payments to Ligado will begin on September 30, 2025, starting at $16 million, and continuing quarterly and increasing 3 percent annually until the end of the agreement in 2107.

Once the transaction closes, Ligado will receive approximately $550m, of which $535m will be used to pay down debts to Viasat-Inmarsat. AST SpaceMobile draws the capital for the transaction as part of an institutional financing commitment, intended to finance a wholly owned special-purpose vehicle (SPV) in a non-recourse senior-secured delayed-draw term loan facility, subject to customary closing conditions.

AST SpaceMobile’s first five commercial low-Earth orbit BlueBird satellites possess the largest communications arrays for a commercial satellite in the orbital plane, measuring about 700 sq ft (65 sqm), capable of non-continuous cellular broadband service across 100 percent of the United States and select markets globally, targeting over 5,600 American coverage cells.

Next-generation block 2 BlueBird satellites will be even larger, with 2,400 sq ft (222.9 sqm) arrays, capable of delivering ten times the bandwidth of their predecessors, enabling peak data transmission speeds of up to 120Mbps supporting voice, full data, and video direct-to-device applications.