Rakuten and AST SpaceMobile plan to establish Rakuten AST, a Japanese joint venture that will procure and operate satellites connecting directly to ordinary smartphones. Announced on November 9, 2026, the agreement assigns 51% of voting rights to Rakuten and 49% to AST SpaceMobile’s Japanese subsidiary.
The venture expects up to ¥148 billion, approximately $1 billion, in support over about three years through Japan’s J-LEO program. Domestic operations are targeted by the end of March 2029. AST SpaceMobile will supply satellites compatible with mid-band radio frequencies.
The planned network combines spacecraft with ground-based cellular infrastructure managed in Japan. Its intended services include broadband connections for standard smartphones and emergency communications, including roaming between mobile operators during disasters.
Direct-to-device satellite service connects a phone’s cellular radio to a satellite rather than a nearby terrestrial antenna. The approach extends a mobile operator’s network beyond the geographic reach of its ground infrastructure. Mobile operators remain part of the service arrangement, connecting satellite capacity with their existing customer networks.
Rakuten’s involvement began well before the new venture. In March 2020, Rakuten and Vodafone announced that they had become lead investors in AST & Science, the predecessor business behind AST SpaceMobile. That financing brought the company’s total capital raised at the time to $128 million.
The 2020 announcement described a network intended to serve standard 4G smartphones, followed by 5G, without specialized satellite equipment. It also described roaming between space-based and terrestrial cellular coverage. The proposed user experience was built around existing mobile devices and operator relationships.
The new Japanese company gives that partnership a specific procurement and operating organization. Its responsibilities will encompass satellite acquisition and connectivity management.
Alongside the venture, Rakuten Mobile plans commercial-environment satellite-to-mobile testing during 2026. The J-LEO constellation is scheduled to support Japanese domestic operations by March 2029.
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