Ensilaic’s Custom ASIC Unlocks AST SpaceMobile’s Global Satellite‑Based Cellular Network

Ensilaic, a leading UK custom design house, has unveiled a cutting‑edge cellular ASIC that will power AST SpaceMobile’s ambitious plan to launch the world’s first space‑based cellular broadband network, capable of connecting any unmodified mobile handset directly from orbit.

AST SpaceMobile’s vision is to eliminate the coverage gaps that plague terrestrial networks, providing reliable 4G/5G service to the five billion subscribers already on mobile and bringing broadband to the nearly half of the world that remains unconnected.

Engaging Ensilaic over a year ago, AST supplied a brief for a next‑generation ASIC that marries state‑of‑the‑art performance with exceptional power efficiency. The resulting chip will sit at the heart of the satellite’s communications payload, enabling direct, low‑latency links between ground‑based phones and the constellation.

Business development director Paul Morris explained to EE Times that AST’s mobile base station in space will allow users to connect with a simple subscription, sidestepping the need for traditional cell towers. “It works with any existing mobile handset,” he said, adding that partners such as Vodafone are already on board.

Unlike Starlink, which relies on ground‑based towers to route traffic, AST SpaceMobile’s approach eliminates intermediary links, offering a direct handset‑to‑satellite link that could drastically reduce latency and improve reliability.

Starlink currently operates roughly 1,600 satellites, with a roadmap to launch up to 42,000. Ensilaic’s ASIC is designed to help AST catch up, delivering the required performance within the strict power budgets of low‑Earth orbit vehicles.

Morris highlighted the key challenge: limited solar‑cell power. “A satellite spends only part of its orbit in sunlight, meaning we must charge quickly and run on batteries the rest of the time,” he explained. “The solution required a novel architecture and an advanced semiconductor process node that was unavailable just a few years ago.”

Resulting in a fully custom design that blends integrated RF engineering with sophisticated signal processing on a FinFET‑based process, the ASIC balances bandwidth, transmit power, receive sensitivity, and power consumption to meet AST’s demanding specifications.

AST’s flagship satellite, BlueWalker‑3, is a 693‑square‑foot phased‑array platform slated for launch in Summer 2022. Chief technology officer Huiwen Yao praised Ensilaic’s expertise: “Their advanced digital signal processing and RFIC capabilities enabled us to build the next‑generation semiconductor architecture we need for direct‑to‑cell connectivity.”

Ensilaic’s prior work includes a single‑chip Ka‑band transceiver IC for the European Space Agency’s ARTES and CASSIS projects, supporting a low‑cost, hybrid automotive communication module that links vehicles to LEO satellites, 4G/5G infrastructure, and Wi‑Fi for high‑capacity connectivity.

— Originally published on EE Times.

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