AST SpaceMobile, Inc.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the AST SpaceMobile third quarter 2023 business update call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Scott Wisniewski, Chief Strategy Officer of AST SpaceMobile. Please go ahead.

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. Let me refer you to page two of the presentation, which contains our safe harbor disclaimer. During today's call, we may make certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements on this call. For more information about these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the Risk Factors section of AST Space Mobile's annual report on Form 10-K for the year that ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other documents filed by AST Space Mobile with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call. Also, after our initial remarks, we will be starting our Q&A section with questions submitted in advance by our shareholders. Now, referring to page three, for those of you who may be new to our company and our mission, there are over 5 billion mobile phones in use today around the world, but many of us still experience gaps in coverage as we live, work, and travel. Additionally, there are billions of people without cellular broadband who remain unconnected to the global economy. The markets we are pursuing are massive, and the problem we are solving is important and touches nearly all of us. In this backdrop, AST Space Mobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with everyday, unmodified mobile devices and supported by our extensive IP and patent portfolio. It is now my pleasure to pass it over to Chairman and CEO, Abel Avalon, who will take you through our activities since the last public update.

Thank you, Scott. I would like to welcome everybody to our Q3 2023 earnings call. Turning to page four, I would like to start off with our key highlights and updates. We recorded another historic first in the world of connectivity. BlueWalker 3 demonstrated the first and only space-based 5G capabilities and 40 megabits per second data rate. This caps a highly successful testing program that includes 2G, 4G, and 5G with participation from partners Vodafone, AT&T, Rakuten, and Nokia, validating AST SpaceMobile's satellite design, patented technology, and manufacturing strategy. We also are moving full speed ahead with our plans to launch the first five satellites in Q1 2024. Manufacturing is at full speed and progressing well in Midland. As a measure of progress to date, we have already incurred approximately 85% of the planned capital expenditure for these satellites, including launch costs. Transition to our cost profile, as we complete certain non-recurring R&D initiatives and the first five commercial satellites, we expect adjusted operating expenses to be between $25 to $30 million per quarter, beginning from Q1 2024, versus the historical run rate of approximately $37 to $40 million per quarter. And lastly, fundraising efforts with multiple strategic partners continue to advance and progress, and the timing is in line with what we disclosed to you a few weeks ago in our Interim Business Update press release. And let's turn to page five so I can provide some additional detail on how this is progressing. We're moving forward on definitive documentation and completion of diligence with multiple strategic partners. The strategic investment process is intended to result in new capital and establish new and incremental financial, commercial, and strategic relationships within the wireless ecosystem. This new investment is intended to fund the manufacturing, launch, and operation of additional Bluebird satellites beyond our first five commercial satellites. Overall, we're encouraged by where we are in this process and hope to be able to share more at any time during November or December. Transitioning back to our technology on page six, for the third quarter in a row, we have made telecommunication history. In September, we accomplished another unprecedented leap in space-based cellular broadband by successfully making the first ever 5G connection for voice and data between an everyday modified smartphone and a satellite in space. The 5G call was placed on September 8th from a modified Samsung Galaxy S22 located in Hana, Hawaii, in a wireless dead zone. The testing was complete with our partners Vodafone, AT&T, and Nokia, sharing our collective success. In a separate test, we broke previous space-based cellular broadband data sessions record by achieving a download rate of approximately 14 megabits per second. I will also encourage you to watch the video of the 5G connection and other testing milestones using BlueWalker 3 on our website. Turning to page 7, our historic achievement of 5G cellular broadband directly from space comes at a time where the United States has placed an emphasis on ensuring 5G broadband connectivity to all Americans. Today, less than half of the geographic United States have 5G coverage with download speeds greater than 7 megabits per second. The SpaceMobile network is the only space-based network designed for cellular broadband, and we will be able to efficiently cover unconnected areas of the country to bring 5G connectivity to everyone. The FCC reopened comments to the 5G Fund for Rural America rulemaking process, which we participated in. We had encouraged the Commission to make satellite network eligible for funding through this program and look forward to monitoring development in the rulemaking process in the near term. This clear need that we are meeting is a key part of how we have been able to develop strong wireless operators partners over time. On page H, I want to give you a few examples of how our collaboration has been highlighted by our M&O partners. First, with a quick preview from how Vodafone is thinking about offering our service to seamlessly augment their market-leading terrestrial network. They will use us the first and only space-based cellular broadband network to offer voice calls, SMS tests, video calls, internet browsing, email, music streaming, social media, anywhere where the Vodafone subscriber may be located. And with AT&T for the second quarter in a row, they have highlighted us from front and center as a key milestone in their history and on our earnings goals. here taking about their support from the world's first direct 5G voice call. The high-profile public support shows the seriousness and the depth of these relationships. Of course, AT&T and Vodafone are key partners for us, but they are not the only ones. Turning to page 9, we're proud to have MOUs and agreements with over 40 of the largest mobile network operators around the world. represented over 2 billion subscribers that will become accessible to us as we deploy our network. These seminars include Vodafone, Rakuten, AT&T, Bell, Canada, AfriCell, Etisala, Globe, Indosat, Liberty, Latin America, LTC, Maxis, Millicon, MTN, Mooney, NYSAT, Optus, Orange, Salam, Safran, Smart, Smile, Somtel, FTC, Telecom Argentina, Telefonica, Telconcel, Testra Team, Uganda Telecom, Yes, SANE, and others. Before I provide an update on our manufacturing progress, I want to take a minute to highlight the strengths of our intellectual property on page 10. Our IP portfolio continues to grow, now accounting to over 3,100 patents and patent-pending claims. over 30 patent families, over 25 U.S. patent applications, and over 10 additional patents around the world. Our strategy since funding has been to patent key aspects of direct-to-device value change on an end-to-end basis, as well as key aspects of our manufacturing process. Turning to page 11. we're pleased to report great progress on the manufacturing of our first five commercial satellites at our facilities in Midland, Texas. We're in advanced stages of the production of key subsystems of the satellites and have a high level of vertical integration over the full process. All key components manufacturing has been brought in-house. We're running three shifts at our Midland facilities and have ramped to approximately 160 manufacturing employees, with over 100 of them in the picture above. To date, we have incurred 85% of planned capital expenditure, including launch costs. Transition to page 12. I wanted to give you an update on manufacturing of our first five commercial satellites, which are in advanced stages in Midland Texas. It is important to understand the high level of vertical integration in our manufacturing process. Being vertically integrated is very important for us, as it allows us to maintain the unprecedented cost per unit delivered for our satellites, with the power and capability to deliver broadband directly to everyday smartphones. These capabilities are very unique in the industry and will allow us to run the manufacturing capacity of six satellites per month and 72 satellites per year. This page outlines the key subsystems that are part of our microns, which are the building blocks of our phase array. Our microns are designed for mass production and are all identical. Our ability to mass produce them is essential to the lost cost of our satellites. In order to mass produce microns effectively, we have vertically integrated systems of the micron, power system, power storage, electronics, and antennas. We had a solar panel production line in Midland and our own kick lines, cover glass, and interconnect cells at a supplier in order to lower our costs. Extend life and modify performance of solar panels to survive in space. We also have battery pack production line in Midland, which then we get integrated into the Micron. Both the solar panel and batteries were brought in-house after being established externally sourced for Blue Walker III. Our electronics are designed to last 7 to 10 years while also maintaining low costs. We produce our electronics for our first five satellites utilizing FPGAs, field-programmable gate arrays, and our own PAs, LNAs, to ensure performance in the harsh environment of space. For Block II, the FPGA will be upgraded with our own ASIC. Turning to the next page, our system is composed of a very large phase array, which is built out of the microns that I explained in the previous page, and a central control and progressing unit, which we call our control site, which we will update you here as well. The control site is also made in-house, including the structure that houses our avionic flight software and central processing beam former, which is the unit that generates and creates the beams that turned into cellular cells for managing direct connectivity to devices. This is also made in-house. The key components of this have been completed and are being integrated in our Midland, Texas facility. The flight computer is an essential part of our system and is where we host our attitude control system to manage and position the spacecraft, and also where we run flight software, which talks to every sensor and actuator on board to control our spacecraft. This is all made in-house, including the wiring harness. The software and control system is architected and designed in our U.S. offices and get integrated and tested in our Midland facilities. In this picture, you see the control side components of the avionics stack, the harness, and all of the ground and flight software which is required to manage and control the satellites. It is important to remind you that all these subsystems and this level of vertical integration is only possible thanks to the fact that we have Blue Walker 3 operating for over a year successfully. And that has given us all the learnings and all the required heritage in order to be able to integrate effectively and cost-effectively all these parts of our new build of satellites. And with that, I would like to pass over to Sean to provide a financial update. Thanks, Abel, and good afternoon, everyone.