Saudi telco STC has signed a ten-year commercial agreement with AST SpaceMobile to provide direct-to-device satellite mobile connectivity across Saudi Arabia.

The agreement will also see STC and AST SpaceMobile cover other key regional markets.

As part of the agreement, STC has committed to a prepayment of $175 million for future services and made a significant long-term commercial revenue commitment.

The purpose of the tie-up is to eliminate connectivity gaps across Saudi Arabia through the delivery of AST's space-based cellular broadband network for 5G and 4G LTE services.

AST will integrate its space-based cellular broadband with STC's terrestrial infrastructure to expand mobile coverage across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and Africa.

STC noted that commercial services won't launch until the final quarter of next year.

“This partnership is another major leap forward to deliver on the promise of truly universal mobile broadband coverage, bridging the digital divide and empowering millions with reliable and easy-to-use connectivity," said Abel Avellan, founder, chairman, and CEO of AST SpaceMobile.

Olayan Alwetaid, CEO of stc group, added: “By expanding coverage by using the latest innovations in telecommunications technology, stc and AST SpaceMobile are bridging connectivity gaps and ensuring no one is left out of the digital future."

Founded in 2017, AST's first test satellite, Bluewalker 1, was launched in 2019; Bluewalker 2 was canceled. Its latest test satellite, Bluewalker 3, launched in 2022.

AST was planning a constellation of almost 170 satellites; the first 20 were originally due to enter operation by 2023, with another 90 deployed through 2024. According to more recent press releases, it seems to have revised its constellation plans down to 100.

Verizon and AT&T, along with Vodafone, are all investors in AST SpaceMobile, rivaling Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper.

STC claims that its agreement with AST makes it the first operator in the region to adopt direct-to-device satellite broadband connectivity.