AT&T Cools on Satellite MVNO Model, Plans to Target Coverage Gaps with D2D

AT&T CEO John Stankey has ruled out a wholesale satellite MVNO agreement, arguing that the operator does not need a third-party satellite provider to solve a problem that he feels its terrestrial network already largely addresses.

Speaking on AT&T’s second-quarter earnings call, and first reported in Light Reading, Stankey said that satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services are best suited to the small share of usage that falls outside AT&T’s fixed and mobile network footprint. He said the company already handles around 98% of customer traffic, with satellite connectivity positioned to address the remaining coverage “corner cases”.

AT&T expects its satellite D2D capabilities to begin coming to market in 2027, supported by its partnership with AST SpaceMobile and wider collaboration with T-Mobile and Verizon. The service is expected to provide a seamless transition between terrestrial and satellite coverage when users move beyond the reach of conventional networks.

Stankey said MVNO arrangements typically make sense when they allow a carrier to reach customer segments it cannot otherwise serve. In this case, he argued, AT&T is not looking to hand over network access to address a market it can already largely reach.

The comments add further weight to the position emerging from the major U.S. mobile operators that satellite D2D is valuable as a complementary coverage layer, but not as a route for satellite players to become mobile resellers on terrestrial networks.