Rakuten AST targets 2029 service with up to $1 billion in support

By Rebecca Stone

Japan has selected the Rakuten Group-led Rakuten AST proposal, which is expected to receive up to 148 billion yen—about $1 billion—in support over roughly three years.

Rakuten Group and AST SpaceMobile announced the joint venture on Monday, saying Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications chose their proposal for the J-LEO (Japan Low Earth Orbit Satellite Communications) project.

The support will flow through the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan (CIAJ), which manages the government fund, over roughly three years.

The selection is confirmed. The operating date, spacecraft count and overseas use remain roadmap items or unanswered questions.

Rakuten AST plans to deploy and operate satellites using mid-band spectrum, connecting ordinary smartphones directly from low Earth orbit.

The companies signed their agreement Nov. 6, Japan time, and plan to establish the Tokyo-based venture this month with 100 million yen in capital. Representative Director and CEO Ryoji Osaka will lead it.

The planned company’s stated business covers satellite procurement and the operation and management of satellite connectivity. The scope puts procurement and network operations under one Japanese entity.

Who controls Rakuten AST?

Rakuten Group holds 51% of the voting rights, while AST SpaceMobile Japan Holdings II GK, an indirect AST subsidiary, holds 49%.

Control sits with Rakuten. Product supply sits with AST SpaceMobile, which will provide the satellites for what the companies call Japan’s sovereign direct-to-device constellation.

What changes for Japanese carriers?

Ground base-station equipment will sit in Japan, allowing Japanese carriers to run the network themselves. The project also includes a framework for emergency roaming between mobile operators during disasters.

Rakuten AST also plans to offer capacity to AST SpaceMobile’s customers outside Japan, but that move depends on regulatory approval.

Rakuten Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani said: “We will maximize capital efficiency and pursue the expansion of business opportunities in the satellite communications sector.”

AST founder and CEO Abel Avellan said the capacity “can also be utilized outside of Japan.” Overseas capacity remains conditional.

What happens before 2029?

Rakuten Mobile still plans to begin commercial-environment testing of satellite-to-phone service with AST within 2026, well ahead of the venture’s March 2029 operating target.

Rakuten has invested in AST SpaceMobile since 2020, giving the joint venture an established corporate and financial relationship. The 2026 program extends that relationship into a Japan-specific operating test.

The announcement does not supply a service revenue forecast, subscriber target or pricing plan. Its disclosed commercial case rests on the funding ceiling, 2026 test and March 2029 target.

What remains undefined?

The companies did not say how many satellites the Japanese constellation will need. Procurement scale and resulting network capacity therefore remain undefined in the announcement.

Scale remains undefined.

Days after the J-LEO award, AST said it would build its own reusable rocket, Blacklift, with engines from Firefly Aerospace to launch its BlueBird satellites from late 2028. The associated engine deal was valued at $1.3 billion.

That launch roadmap falls in the final months before Rakuten AST’s end-of-March 2029 target. Neither announcement specified that Blacklift or BlueBird would carry the Japanese constellation.

With the satellite count still undisclosed, the next commercial markers are the 2026 tests, regulatory clearance for overseas capacity and execution against the March 2029 target. If those milestones hold, Rakuten AST can pursue customers beyond Japan; if they slip, it remains a domestic carrier project with an unfinalized scale.