A Florida-based entrepreneur is challenging Silicon Valley giants in the race to connect smartphones from space. Abel Avellan, a Venezuelan immigrant who became a U.S. citizen, built a $550 million satellite company before launching AST SpaceMobile in 2017. His new venture aims to bypass cell towers entirely – letting regular phones access space-based broadband anywhere on Earth.
Avellan’s secret weapon? Giant orbiting antennas bigger than football fields that outperform Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites. While SpaceX crams thousands of cheap satellites into orbit, AST’s $21 million spacecraft use American engineering to deliver stronger signals with just 90 units. These marvels last twice as long as Musk’s satellites – a common-sense approach that respects taxpayer dollars.
SpaceX lawyers recently mocked AST as a “meme stock,” but real-world results tell a different story. AST’s prototypes already successfully tested video calls through Verizon and AT&T networks. Unlike government-funded boondoggles, this private sector project delivers tangible progress – five working satellites launched last year, with 60 more planned by 2026.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. China’s aggressively expanding its satellite program while Washington bureaucrats drag their feet. Avellan’s immigrant hustle exposes the failure of career politicians to protect American technological dominance. His team’s 24 patents prove innovation thrives when government gets out of the way.
Globalists scoff at targeting “dead zones” instead of cities, but real Americans need service in farm fields and fishing boats. While Bezos’ Project Kuiper chases urban elites, AST partners with heartland carriers like AT&T. This isn’t just business – it’s about serving forgotten communities that coastal tech giants ignore.
Funding comes from patriots, not handouts. AST raised over $600 million through smart deals with Vodafone and Rakuten – no green energy subsidies or diversity grants. Compare that to Starlink’s $886 million in government contracts. Avellan proves you don’t need woke capitalism to succeed, just grit and good engineering.
Some “experts” claim the satellites are too complex. Let them visit Florida’s Space Coast, where American workers assemble these marvels in spotless clean rooms. While coastal elites lecture about climate change, AST’s team focuses on solutions – creating jobs and connecting rural Americans without rewriting the Constitution.
The final frontier belongs to freedom-loving innovators, not government-approved monopolies. As globalists push centralized control, Avellan’s story reminds us that immigrant visionaries built this country. His satellites don’t just transmit data – they beam the American dream to every corner of God’s creation.
