AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the AST SpaceMobile Third Quarter 2022 Business Update Call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，謝謝你的支持。歡迎來到 AST SpaceMobile 2022 年第三季度業務更新電話會議。請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Scott Wisniewski, Chief Strategy Officer of AST SpaceMobile. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給今天的演講者，AST SpaceMobile 首席戰略官 Scott Wisniewski。請繼續。

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Let me refer you to Slide 2 of the presentation, which contains our safe harbor disclaimer.

謝謝，大家下午好。讓我向您推薦演示文稿的幻燈片 2，其中包含我們的安全港免責聲明。

During today's call, we may make certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, and as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements on this call. For more information about these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the Risk Factors section of AST SpaceMobile's annual report on Form 10-K for the year that ended December 31, 2021, and with the Securities and Exchange Commission and on other documents filed by AST SpaceMobile with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements that may be discussed during the call. Also, after our initial remarks, we will be starting our Q&A session with questions submitted in advance by our shareholders.

在今天的電話會議中，我們可能會做出某些前瞻性陳述。這些陳述基於當前的預期和假設，因此受到風險和不確定性的影響。許多因素可能導致實際事件與本次電話會議的前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。有關這些風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參閱 AST SpaceMobile 截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日止年度的 10-K 表格年度報告的風險因素部分，以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的以及 AST 提交的其他文件SpaceMobile 不時與美國證券交易委員會聯繫。告誡讀者不要過分依賴前瞻性陳述，公司明確表示不承擔任何更新電話會議期間可能討論的前瞻性陳述的義務。此外，在我們最初的發言之後，我們將開始我們的問答環節，由我們的股東提前提交問題。

Now referring to Slide 3. For those of you who may be new to our company and mission, there are over 5 billion mobile phones in use today around the world, but many of us still experience gaps in coverage as we live, work and travel. In this backdrop, AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today's 5 billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to billions to remain unconnected.

現在請看幻燈片 3。對於那些可能對我們公司和使命不熟悉的人來說，當今世界上有超過 50 億部手機在使用，但我們中的許多人在生活、工作和旅行時仍然會遇到覆蓋範圍的差距.在此背景下，AST SpaceMobile 正在建立第一個也是唯一一個基於我們廣泛的 IP 和專利組合的標準未修改移動設備直接在太空中運行的全球蜂窩寬帶網絡。我們的工程師和太空科學家的使命是消除當今 50 億移動用戶面臨的連接差距，並最終為數十億人提供寬帶以保持未連接狀態。

Since our last quarterly business update, we have made strong progress, including the achievement of several critical technology milestones.

自上次季度業務更新以來，我們取得了長足的進步，包括實現了幾個關鍵的技術里程碑。

It is my pleasure to now pass it over to Chairman and CEO, Abel Avellan, who will take you through that now. Abel?

我很高興現在將其轉交給董事長兼首席執行官 Abel Avellan，他現在將帶領大家完成這一切。亞伯？

As we announced this morning, I am super excited to report that BlueWalker 3 successfully unfurled (inaudible) operating normally (inaudible) deployed configuration. Why this is extremely important? First, largest space-based arrays are the key technology that support direct-to-home broadband connectivity from the space. In order to provide broadband to regular phone from space, we believe large-space arrays are the key and essential technology necessary for this type of communication. Now we are the first and only company that has mastered not only how to build them at low cost, but also how to fly them in (inaudible) at approximately 70,000 miles per hour, which we think it is critical for the capability to connect to regular phones as they fly. Second, the years of R&D and hundreds of millions invested in this technology are starting to pay off, and they have now resulted in a deep portfolio of IP of more than 2,600 patent and patent pending claims. Third, the successful execution of unfolding of 693 square feet array designed for several low-band communication validating key assets of our satellite design and pave the way for us to build our next budget satellites. We plan to incorporate these essential learnings and improvement, not only in how we build them at a lower cost, but also how we fly them in the space that can only be achieved by actually going through the complete process of building and flying in orbit. This is a process with this achievement, we consider substantially complete. Fourth, our patented satellite architecture is fundamentally different approach to the one taken by (inaudible) satellite industry. Now we have invented, patented, built and flown a new satellite architecture that now we own and one we think will change what has been possible to do with satellite up to this point in terms of capability and cost. Fifth, this architecture prove that we have the capability to build, fly and operate the largest commercial communications array, the key enabler to provide to regular cell phone connectivity from the space, an extremely large market where we have a clear technological and timing advantage as it relates to our planned several global network for space. This is of successfully unfolding the system, we consider the major derisking impact for our technology and approval of our satellite architecture.

正如我們今天早上宣布的那樣，我非常興奮地報告 BlueWalker 3 成功展開（聽不清）正常運行（聽不清）的部署配置。為什麼這非常重要？首先，最大的天基陣列是支持從太空直接到戶寬帶連接的關鍵技術。為了從太空向普通電話提供寬帶，我們認為大空間陣列是此類通信所必需的關鍵和必要技術。現在，我們是第一家也是唯一一家不僅掌握瞭如何以低成本建造它們，而且還掌握瞭如何以大約每小時 70,000 英里的速度飛行（聽不清）的公司，我們認為這對於連接能力至關重要飛行時的普通電話。其次，多年的研發和對這項技術的數億美元投資開始產生回報，現在已經產生了超過 2,600 項專利和正在申請專利的深度 IP 組合。第三，為幾個低頻段通信設計的 693 平方英尺陣列的成功展開驗證了我們衛星設計的關鍵資產，並為我們建造下一個預算衛星鋪平了道路。我們計劃將這些重要的學習和改進結合起來，不僅體現在我們如何以更低的成本建造它們，還體現在我們如何在太空中飛行，而這只能通過實際完成在軌建造和飛行的完整過程來實現。這是一個有成就的過程，我們認為基本完成了。第四，我們獲得專利的衛星架構與（聽不清）衛星行業採用的方法截然不同。現在我們已經發明、申請專利、建造並試飛了一種新的衛星架構，我們現在擁有它，我們認為它會改變迄今為止衛星在能力和成本方面的可能性。第五，這種架構證明我們有能力建造、飛行和運營最大的商業通信陣列，這是從太空為普通手機提供連接的關鍵推動力，這是一個非常大的市場，我們在這個市場上擁有明顯的技術和時間優勢它涉及到我們計劃的幾個全球空間網絡。這是成功展開系統，我們考慮對我們的技術和衛星架構的批准的主要去風險影響。

Now we look forward to continuing our collaboration with MNOs around the world, including Vodafone, AT&T, Rakuten Mobile, Bell Canada, MTN Group, Orange, Telefonica, Etisalat, Indosat, Smart, Globe Telecom, Millicom, (inaudible), Telecom Argentina, Telstra, (inaudible) and Liberty Latin America, among others.

現在，我們期待繼續與世界各地的 MNO 合作，包括沃達丰、AT&T、樂天移動、加拿大貝爾、MTN 集團、Orange、Telefonica、Etisalat、Indosat、Smart、Globe Telecom、Millicom、（聽不清）、阿根廷電信、 Telstra（聽不清）和 Liberty Latin America 等。

And with that, I'm happy to pass it to Sean.

有了這個，我很高興將它傳遞給肖恩。

Thanks, Abel. Good afternoon, everyone. The third quarter was another period of milestone achievements and execution, and I want to congratulate the entire AST SpaceMobile team for their efforts on the successful launch of the BlueWalker 3 test satellite and the unfolding of the largest communications array ever deployed commercially in low earth orbit. This infrastructure currently orbiting the earth, represents an important step forward in our efforts to demonstrate that cellular subscribers can enjoy cellular coverage around the globe at 5G speeds. This technology is designed to eventually erase those mobile phone dead zones that we all suffer through and more importantly, provide the productivity-enhancing technology of mobile communications to billions of currently unconnected people.

謝謝，亞伯。大家下午好。第三季度是另一個取得里程碑式成就和執行的時期，我要祝賀整個 AST SpaceMobile 團隊為成功發射 BlueWalker 3 測試衛星和展開有史以來在近地軌道商業部署的最大通信陣列所做的努力.該基礎設施目前繞地球運行，代表著我們在證明蜂窩用戶可以以 5G 速度在全球範圍內享受蜂窩覆蓋方面的努力向前邁出了重要一步。這項技術旨在最終消除我們都經歷過的那些手機盲區，更重要的是，為數十億目前未連接的人提供提高生產力的移動通信技術。

Let me move on to a discussion about some of our key operating metrics that are presented on Slide 6. Looking at the first chart, we see for the third quarter of 2022, we had non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses of $38.6 million versus $31.8 million in the second quarter. Non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses exclude noncash operating costs including depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation totaling $3.6 million and $3.6 million in the third quarter and second quarter, respectively. Our third quarter non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses increased by $6.8 million versus the second quarter. This increase is mostly a result of the achievement of certain milestones in our R&D projects, which brought forward certain milestone payments and an increase in engineering services costs due to an increase in head count. Our research and development expenses consisted principally of nonrecurring development activities for which we typically engage third-party vendors and payments are based on completion of milestones. After evaluating future R&D milestones over the next few quarters, we expect that the level of non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses will remain in the high 30s for the next 2 quarters as we continue to pursue important R&D projects for our BlueBird satellite and decline to the low 30s thereafter. Our other components of non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses, namely Engineering Services and GA is expected to remain in about the same range for the next 2 quarters and will trend up slightly over time as a result of growing operations.

讓我繼續討論我們在幻燈片 6 上顯示的一些關鍵運營指標。看第一張圖表，我們看到 2022 年第三季度，我們的非 GAAP 調整後運營費用為 3860 萬美元，而 3180 萬美元在第二季度。非 GAAP 調整後運營費用不包括非現金運營成本，包括折舊和攤銷以及基於股票的薪酬，第三季度和第二季度的總額分別為 360 萬美元和 360 萬美元。我們第三季度的非 GAAP 調整後運營費用比第二季度增加了 680 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於我們的研發項目實現了某些里程碑，這帶來了某些里程碑付款以及由於員工人數增加而導致的工程服務成本增加。我們的研發費用主要包括我們通常聘請第三方供應商進行的非經常性開發活動，付款基於里程碑的完成。在評估未來幾個季度的未來研發里程碑後，我們預計未來兩個季度非 GAAP 調整後的運營費用水平將保持在 30 的高位，因為我們將繼續為我們的 BlueBird 衛星開展重要的研發項目並下降到此後低 30s。我們的非 GAAP 調整後運營費用的其他組成部分，即工程服務和 GA 預計在接下來的兩個季度將保持在大致相同的範圍內，並且由於業務增長將隨著時間的推移略有上升。

Turning towards the second chart, our capital expenditures for the third quarter was $11.3 million versus $9.4 million for the second quarter. We expect our levels of capital expenditures, which include direct material costs, capital improvements of AIT facilities and ground infrastructure will average around $12 million over the next 4 quarters.

轉向第二張圖表，我們第三季度的資本支出為 1130 萬美元，而第二季度為 940 萬美元。我們預計我們的資本支出水平，包括直接材料成本、AIT 設施的資本改進和地面基礎設施，在未來 4 個季度平均約為 1200 萬美元。

And on the final chart on the slide, we ended the second quarter just shy of $200 million in cash on hand. We believe this cash is sufficient to support our cash expenditures for the next 12 months, including completing the construction of our next 5 Block 1 satellites. In addition to this cash on hand, we've been working hard to develop other sources of cash and liquidity to supplement our activities. We understand the capital-intensive nature of our project, and we are highly focused on exploring a wide range of options in order to efficiently fund our efforts. If we are successful in attracting additional capital, we would look to reevaluate our business plan and might further accelerate certain R&D expenditures and other investments designed to enable us to achieve our goal of global coverage more rapidly. As BlueWalker 3 continues to perform as expected, we are now focusing our investments towards the production of our BlueBird satellites in the latter half of 2023 and setting up ground infrastructure to connect to the terrestrial network of the MNOs supported by technology and infrastructure partners such as American Tower, Rakuten Symphony and Nokia. We believe a key advantage of the Space Mobile System is its ability to be deployed in a phased manner, where we can target a modest number of satellites to provide limited coverage in specific countries. We believe this ability to phase in our coverage will provide us a first-to-market advantage and enable us to work with MNOs to introduce services and develop the market. We continue to project that our materials and launch costs for our first 20 satellites remains at between $300 million to $340 million with a midpoint per satellite cost of $16 million. The projected cost of these satellites could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including inflation, supply chain disruptions, design changes and increases in the cost of electronic components, assembly equipment, launch costs, salaries and other aspects of our satellite design and assembly activities (inaudible) increased the cost to design, assemble and launch our satellites. These estimated costs are preliminary estimates and based on certain assumptions and information currently available to us and are subject to change based on numerous factors described earlier as well as delays in the development of components and materials, launch costs and other factors. I am encouraged by the progress that the team has made, and I'm excited about the company's future as we transition from the development phase to commercial satellite production. Thank you for your continued support of the Space Mobile mission.

在幻燈片的最後一張圖表上，我們在第二季度結束時手頭現金略低於 2 億美元。我們相信這筆現金足以支持我們未來 12 個月的現金支出，包括完成我們接下來的 5 顆 Block 1 衛星的建造。除了手頭的現金外，我們一直在努力開發其他現金和流動資金來源，以補充我們的活動。我們了解我們項目的資本密集型性質，並且我們高度專注於探索廣泛的選擇，以便有效地為我們的工作提供資金。如果我們成功吸引到更多資金，我們將重新評估我們的業務計劃，並可能進一步加快某些研發支出和其他投資，旨在使我們能夠更快地實現我們的全球覆蓋目標。隨著 BlueWalker 3 繼續按預期運行，我們現在將投資重點放在 2023 年下半年的 BlueBird 衛星生產上，並建立地面基礎設施以連接到由技術和基礎設施合作夥伴支持的 MNO 的地面網絡，例如美國鐵塔、樂天交響樂和諾基亞。我們認為，太空移動系統的一個關鍵優勢是它能夠分階段部署，我們可以將少量衛星作為目標，在特定國家提供有限的覆蓋範圍。我們相信，這種分階段覆蓋的能力將為我們提供搶占先機的優勢，並使我們能夠與 MNO 合作推出服務和開發市場。我們繼續預測，我們前 20 顆衛星的材料和發射成本將保持在 3 億至 3.4 億美元之間，每顆衛星的中點成本為 1600 萬美元。這些衛星的預計成本可能會受到多種因素的不利影響，包括通貨膨脹、供應鏈中斷、設計變更以及電子元件、組裝設備、發射成本、工資和我們衛星設計和組裝的其他方面的成本增加活動（聽不清）增加了設計、組裝和發射我們衛星的成本。這些估計成本是初步估計，基於我們目前可用的某些假設和信息，可能會根據前面描述的眾多因素以及組件和材料開發的延遲、啟動成本和其他因素而發生變化。我對團隊取得的進步感到鼓舞，並且隨著我們從開發階段過渡到商業衛星生產，我對公司的未來感到興奮。感謝您一直以來對 Space Mobile 任務的支持。

And with that, I'll turn it back to Scott.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給斯科特。

Thanks, Sean. Before we go to the queue of analyst questions, I would like to address a few other questions submitted ahead of the call by our investors. Operator, could you please start us off with the first question?

謝謝，肖恩。在我們進入分析師問題隊列之前，我想解決我們的投資者在電話會議之前提交的其他幾個問題。接線員，你能從第一個問題開始嗎？

Damian from England asks, could you provide some key milestones during the 6-month testing program, so that we can have a feel when to expect certain types of results during the program.

來自英國的 Damian 問，您能否提供 6 個月測試計劃中的一些關鍵里程碑，以便我們可以了解計劃期間何時可以期待某些類型的結果。

Thank you, Damian, for the question. Well, first of all, let me say, having had deployed the phase array, it is a major milestone for us as was the step left that was not completely testable on the ground. And now having that behind us, that give us a very good path forward on how to complete our test program. So what is left is basically connecting the array, which had been deployed, directly to cell phones and something that we advanced a lot with first with BlueWalker 1, then everything that we had done on the ground with our partners like Nokia and Rakuten and that will be the next step. So by completing the deployment, now we have all the learnings required for storing, launching, operating, testing and flying a satellite. And that had been accumulated over the last 2 months of flying this spacecraft. So we're very confident with the architecture that we have. We don't foresee any changes to our next batch of satellites, which we call Block 1. In term of next steps for BlueWalker 3, we plan to do testing with many of our mobile network operators and technology and infrastructure partners in order to commercialize our ground network capabilities, and we expect that time line to occur over the next several months into 2023. So for that, we have an incremental license together with AT&T to start testing in the U.S., (inaudible) Texas and Hawaii. In parallel, we will be working with Rakuten in Japan, Vodafone in Europe and Africa, among other MNOs, where we would plan testing virtually in every continent.

達米安，謝謝你提出這個問題。好吧，首先，讓我說，已經部署了相控陣，這對我們來說是一個重要的里程碑，因為剩下的步驟無法在地面上完全測試。現在有了它，這為我們完成測試程序提供了一條很好的前進道路。所以剩下的基本上是將已經部署的陣列直接連接到手機，我們首先使用 BlueWalker 1 進行了很多改進，然後是我們與諾基亞和樂天等合作夥伴在實地所做的一切將是下一步。因此，通過完成部署，現在我們擁有了存儲、發射、操作、測試和飛行衛星所需的所有知識。這是在過去 2 個月駕駛這艘宇宙飛船的過程中積累的。所以我們對我們擁有的架構非常有信心。我們預計下一批衛星（我們稱之為 Block 1）不會有任何變化。就 BlueWalker 3 的後續步驟而言，我們計劃與我們的許多移動網絡運營商以及技術和基礎設施合作夥伴進行測試，以便商業化我們的地面網絡能力，我們預計該時間表將在接下來的幾個月到 2023 年出現。為此，我們與 AT&T 一起獲得了增量許可，可以開始在美國、（聽不清）德克薩斯州和夏威夷進行測試。與此同時，我們將與日本的樂天、歐洲和非洲的沃達丰以及其他 MNO 合作，我們將計劃在每個大洲進行虛擬測試。

Steve from Arizona asks, how is the bill for the first 5 BlueBirds progressing? Is it still on schedule for a second half of 2023 launch?

來自亞利桑那州的史蒂夫問，前 5 只藍鳥的賬單進展如何？是否仍按計劃於 2023 年下半年推出？

Yes, we believe they are. We're targeting for launching the first BlueBirds in late 2023, second half of 2023. We have been making all the necessary investments in site 2, our second site in Midland. We have so far invested $50 million to date at the location, and we have only $5 million to go. Also, we have been buying all the equipment in order to support the assembly integration and testing of the BlueBird program, including the solar panel assemblies, which we have in-sourced. And the learnings to the date from BlueWalker 3 are well contracted with our supply base and early inventory build of long lead items, this give us confidence on the planned time line for the next batch of satellites in 2023.

是的，我們相信他們是。我們的目標是在 2023 年底，即 2023 年下半年推出第一批 BlueBirds。我們一直在對我們在米德蘭的第二個站點 2 進行所有必要的投資。到目前為止，我們已經在該地點投資了 5000 萬美元，而我們只有 500 萬美元可以動用。此外，我們一直在購買所有設備，以支持 BlueBird 計劃的組裝集成和測試，包括我們採購的太陽能電池板組件。迄今為止，BlueWalker 3 的經驗與我們的供應基地和長周期項目的早期庫存構建密切相關，這使我們對 2023 年下一批衛星的計劃時間表充滿信心。

Jay, from California asks, what happens to BlueBirds transferring to ships in the middle of Pacific when there isn't a gateway in its line of sight to relay back to the network? Can you elaborate on how that works?

來自加利福尼亞州的 Jay 問，如果 BlueBirds 在其視線範圍內沒有中繼回網絡的網關，則轉移到太平洋中部的船隻會發生什麼情況？你能詳細說明它是如何工作的嗎？

Yes. We had a very large field of view per satellite given to the geometry and also their size. So we can cover up to 2,800 kilometers. So there is 490458-degree of latitude. There's always land mass, where we can place our gateways and then be able to cover all the oceans. I mean having said that, our main market is where people live and work outside their regular locations in cities and populated areas, but we have the full capability to cover in populated areas and oceans, deserts, national parks on a global basis.

是的。考慮到幾何形狀和尺寸，我們為每顆衛星提供了非常大的視野。所以我們最多可以覆蓋 2,800 公里。所以有 490458 緯度。總是有陸地，我們可以在那裡放置我們的門戶，然後能夠覆蓋所有的海洋。我的意思是說，我們的主要市場是人們在城市和人口稠密地區的常規地點以外生活和工作的地方，但我們有能力在全球範圍內覆蓋人口稠密地區和海洋、沙漠、國家公園。

Carl from Sweden asks, will you test some measures to reduce brightness perceived by astronomers on the next set of satellites?

來自瑞典的卡爾問，你們會在下一組衛星上測試一些降低天文學家感知亮度的措施嗎？

Thanks, Carl. Our network is being designed to support a universal good cellular broadband for more people globally helps address poverty, support economic development and build a diverse digital society. And our network is designed to connect hundreds of millions of devices. So the scope for impact is quite attractive. The brightness issue has been a long-standing complaint for objects in below our orbit and we're eager to use the latest innovations to manage the issue. To do that, we're actively working with industry experts on the latest innovations, including next-generation antireflective materials. We're also engaged with NASA and certain working groups within the astronomy community to participate in and advance industry solutions. And lastly, compared to other constellations that require thousands of satellites because of the size of our satellite and its aperture and field of view, we require much fewer satellites to achieve global coverage for cellular broadband. And we think that, that, together with the scope of our impact is very important.

謝謝，卡爾。我們的網絡旨在為全球更多人提供普遍良好的蜂窩寬帶服務，幫助解決貧困問題、支持經濟發展和建設多樣化的數字社會。我們的網絡旨在連接數億台設備。所以影響的範圍是相當有吸引力的。亮度問題一直是我們軌道下方物體的長期抱怨，我們渴望使用最新的創新來解決這個問題。為此，我們正積極與行業專家合作開發最新的創新技術，包括下一代抗反射材料。我們還與 NASA 和天文學界的某些工作組合作，參與和推進行業解決方案。最後，與由於我們衛星的大小、孔徑和視野而需要數千顆衛星的其他星座相比，我們需要更少的衛星來實現蜂窩寬帶的全球覆蓋。我們認為，這一點以及我們的影響範圍非常重要。

Our final question comes from Tom. Tom asks, you always mentioned that you're ahead of competition. How many years ahead do you think you are?

我們的最後一個問題來自湯姆。湯姆問，你總是提到你領先於競爭對手。你認為你領先多少年？

Well, we think that we are many years ahead. And in the last few months, we have seen a lot of attention into the market of connecting direct to cellphone. We obviously were not surprised by that given the size and the large opportunity that we are playing in. But ultimately, connecting regular modified devices to space is a challenging problem, one that we have been actively working for many years with best partners around the world. We had (inaudible) patented and now launched and operated a new architecture that is supported by 2,600 patents and patent pending claims. And as of today, we do not see anyone else who is pursuing cellular broadband solution to modify phones. SOS solutions or very low data point solutions, we ultimately don't see them as competitors or direct competitors as our solution is providing direct connectivity to handsets at 5G -- through 5G broadband speed.

好吧，我們認為我們領先很多年。在過去的幾個月裡，我們看到很多人關注直接連接到手機的市場。考慮到我們所處的規模和巨大的機會，我們顯然對此並不感到驚訝。但歸根結底，將常規改裝設備連接到太空是一個具有挑戰性的問題，我們多年來一直與世界各地的最佳合作夥伴積極合作.我們已經（聽不清）申請了專利，現在推出並運營了一種新架構，該架構由 2,600 項專利和正在申請的專利申請支持。直到今天，我們還沒有看到任何其他人在追求蜂窩寬帶解決方案來修改手機。 SOS 解決方案或極低數據點解決方案，我們最終不會將它們視為競爭對手或直接競爭對手，因為我們的解決方案通過 5G 寬帶速度提供與 5G 手機的直接連接。

And with that, I'd like to thank our shareholders for submitting these questions. Operator, let's open the call to analyst questions now.

就此，我要感謝我們的股東提出這些問題。接線員，讓我們現在打開分析師問題的電話。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will be coming from the line of Griffin Boss with B. Riley.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 Griffin Boss 與 B. Riley 的對話。

So in reference to some of the language from the 8-K this morning, just curious to what extent are you already manufacturing your BlueBird satellites versus waiting for data from the BlueWalker 3 testing to determine if any modifications are going to be needed? Or are there certain aspects of production that you're waiting on until you get more data from BlueWalker 3?

因此，關於今天早上 8-K 的一些語言，只是好奇你已經在多大程度上製造了你的 BlueBird 衛星，而不是等待 BlueWalker 3 測試的數據來確定是否需要任何修改？或者在從 BlueWalker 3 獲得更多數據之前，您是否正在等待生產的某些方面？

Yes, let me clarify that. So no, we have not been waiting for the data. The productions are ongoing. Parts start to being received and be manufactured in our factories. This reconfirmed that our architecture do not need any unification, and we were able to very successfully deploy, stabilize and fly the satellite on the design that is basically making a crossover to the next batch of satellites. So of course, there is a lot of learnings by flying operating the satellite that we are applying that they have to do with the software, and how the satellite is operated. But in essence, the plan and the manufacturing of all next batch of satellites is ongoing, nothing has been modified on them based on the schedule that we have presented.

是的，讓我澄清一下。所以不，我們沒有等待數據。製作正在進行中。零件開始在我們的工廠接收和製造。這再次證實我們的架構不需要任何統一，我們能夠非常成功地部署、穩定和飛行衛星的設計，基本上與下一批衛星交叉。因此，當然，通過飛行操作我們正在應用的衛星可以學到很多東西，它們與軟件以及衛星的操作方式有關。但從本質上講，所有下一批衛星的計劃和製造都在進行中，根據我們提供的時間表沒有對它們進行任何修改。

Okay, Abel. And then -- so I haven't seen the Q released yet. I was just curious how many shares of Class A stock were issued in that $16.9 million number that you guys gave for 17.0?

好的，亞伯。然後——所以我還沒有看到 Q 發布。我只是好奇在你們給出的 17.0 美元的 1690 萬美元數字中發行了多少 A 類股票？

I think we'll have to come back to you offline with that. We don't have that on hand.

我想我們必須在線下與您聯繫。我們手頭沒有。

Okay. No problems. And then just last one clarification for me for Sean. Did you say -- I just want to clarify on the OpEx guidance, you said non-GAAP adjusted OpEx will remain in the high 30s over the next 2 quarters before declining? Did I hear that right?

好的。沒問題。然後是我對 Sean 的最後一次澄清。您是否說過 - 我只是想澄清一下 OpEx 指導，您說非 GAAP 調整後的 OpEx 在接下來的兩個季度中將保持在 30 多歲的高位，然後才會下降？我沒聽錯嗎？

That is correct. It will be about the same level it was this quarter. That increases all R&D milestone related, and we'll go back down to around the 30 level in the following 2 quarters.

那是對的。這將與本季度的水平大致相同。這增加了所有相關的研發里程碑，我們將在接下來的兩個季度回落到 30 左右的水平。

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Bryan Kraft with Deutsche Bank.

謝謝你。我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Bryan Kraft。

I had a few, if you don't mind. I guess, first, it's great to see that you've unfolded the array successfully on BlueWalker 3. I guess the question there is how much of a proof point is that for the successful unfolding of the BlueBird arrays? I understand that the BlueBird arrays are larger than BlueWalker 3, so just trying to understand how much of a read-through of the success with the BlueWalker array is into the probability of also having success with the BlueBirds and how much that technology or design risk has been minimized now? And then I guess the next question is, how should we think about the pace of launches in 2024 off of the 5 satellites by the end of 2023 guide. And yes, just trying to understand that velocity of launch going into '24 and how quickly the revenue ramp would there be in '24 based on the number of launches?

如果你不介意的話，我有幾個。我想，首先，很高興看到您已在 BlueWalker 3 上成功展開陣列。我想問題是，有多少證明點可以成功展開 BlueBird 陣列？我知道 BlueBird 陣列比 BlueWalker 3 大，所以只是想了解對 BlueWalker 陣列成功的通讀有多少會影響 BlueBirds 也取得成功的可能性，以及該技術或設計風險有多大現在已經最小化了嗎？然後我想下一個問題是，我們應該如何考慮到 2023 年底指南中 5 顆衛星在 2024 年的發射速度。是的，只是想了解 24 年的發布速度，以及 24 年根據發布次數收入增長的速度有多快？

Bryan, let me answer that. For the next batch of satellites basically what we call Block 1 is identical architecture. It's the same architecture, same mechanism, same technology for doing the deployment and also very importantly, same software, (inaudible) operate these spacecrafts. So we will basically repeat what we just did on the first block of satellites. As it relates to your question on the first 5 satellites, we disclosed that we will be launching in the second half of 2023, the next batch of satellites, 5 of them. And during 2024, we will be ramping up our production to get eventually to 6 satellites per month. That's -- we're not giving guidance yet exactly how many in 2024, but that's what we have done in preparation to get to the cadence, and that's what we had in 2 sites, Site 1 and Site 2 in Texas, and that how we automated to get to that pace.

布萊恩，讓我來回答這個問題。對於下一批衛星，我們所說的 Block 1 基本上是相同的架構。這是相同的架構、相同的機制、相同的部署技術，而且非常重要的是，相同的軟件（聽不清）操作這些航天器。所以我們基本上會重複我們剛剛在第一批衛星上所做的事情。關於您關於前 5 顆衛星的問題，我們透露我們將在 2023 年下半年發射下一批衛星，其中 5 顆。在 2024 年期間，我們將提高產量，最終達到每月 6 顆衛星。那是——我們還沒有給出 2024 年確切數量的指導，但這是我們為達到節奏所做的準備，這就是我們在德克薩斯州的兩個站點（站點 1 和站點 2）中所做的，以及如何我們自動化達到了這個速度。

So just to be clear, the 6 satellites will be the manufacturing base in '24. And then I guess the launches would be on a little bit of a lag from that. Is that the right way to think about it?

所以要明確一點，這 6 顆衛星將成為 24 年的製造基地。然後我猜發射會有點滯後。這是正確的思考方式嗎？

Yes. That's the right way to think about it. 5 in '23 and ramping up during 2024 for up to 6 satellites per month.

是的。這才是正確的思考方式。 23 年 5 顆，2024 年每月增加 6 顆衛星。

Got it. Okay. And if I could ask you one other one. How do you think that the announced Starlink relationship with T-Mobile and the Globalstar relationship with Apple will affect your business, if at all, long term? I know that initially, those are pretty limited capability services. But I guess I was just wondering what your perspective is on their ability to maybe evolve those into something that's more competitive with what you're offering?

知道了。好的。如果我可以再問你一個。您認為已宣布的與 T-Mobile 的 Starlink 關係以及與 Apple 的 Globalstar 關係將如何影響您的業務（如果有的話）的長期影響？我知道最初，這些是功能非常有限的服務。但我想我只是想知道您對他們將這些技術演變成比您提供的產品更具競爭力的能力有何看法？

Well, our focus, it has been from the very, very beginning, is that we are the only broadband space-based cellular broadband network. All these other architectures are limited to SOS or very, very limited amount of capacity. We believe that people will be selecting and using services based on access through the carrier that we have access now to 1.8 billion subscribers through a significant number of the top global telecoms around the globe. So we do not see that yet as a direct competition to what we're doing. Our proposition is broadband, broadband everywhere, without dedicating spectrum to the phone, basically reducing the spectrum of the operator on a global basis in partnership with the operator accessing 5 billion subscribers around the globe as they move in and out of the service and always in partnership with the telecoms. So we believe that SOS or very limited connectivity of a few megabits per cell is not a direct competitor to what we're doing.

好吧，我們的重點，從一開始，就是我們是唯一的寬帶天基蜂窩寬帶網絡。所有這些其他架構都受限於 SOS 或非常非常有限的容量。我們相信，人們將根據通過運營商的接入來選擇和使用服務，我們現在可以通過全球眾多頂級全球電信公司接入 18 億用戶。因此，我們還沒有將其視為對我們正在做的事情的直接競爭。我們的主張是寬帶，無處不在的寬帶，無需將頻譜專用於電話，與運營商合作，在全球範圍內基本上減少運營商的頻譜，在全球範圍內接入和退出該服務的 50 億用戶，並且始終在與電信合作。因此，我們認為 SOS 或每個單元幾兆比特的非常有限的連接性並不是我們正在做的事情的直接競爭對手。

The next question is from the line of Caleb Henry with Quilty Analytics.

下一個問題來自 Quilty Analytics 的 Caleb Henry。

Congratulations on the antenna deployments. There was a big milestone. I had a question on -- what about the first 5 satellites? So I think there was some discussion last quarter about switching those from equatorial to a mid inclination. Has that been -- or are inclined orbit, I should say. Has that been finalized where those 5 satellites will go?

祝賀天線部署。有一個重要的里程碑。我有一個問題——前 5 顆衛星怎麼樣？所以我認為上個季度有一些關於將這些從赤道轉向中傾的討論。那是——還是傾斜的軌道，我應該說。這 5 顆衛星的去向是否已最終確定？

Caleb, this is Scott. We've retained flexibility on that point. So we have not given guidance on incline versus equatorial at this time.

凱萊布，這是斯科特。我們在這一點上保留了靈活性。所以我們目前還沒有給出傾斜與赤道的指導。

Okay. And then also for the Block 1 satellites, those were originally supposed to be 20 satellites. And I think the recent discussion is centered on 5, what's the plan for the other 15 that are going to be part of Block 1? Will those also look like clones of the BlueWalker?

好的。然後還有 Block 1 衛星，這些衛星最初應該是 20 顆衛星。我認為最近的討論集中在 5 個問題上，其他 15 個將成為 Block 1 的一部分的計劃是什麼？那些看起來也像 BlueWalker 的克隆嗎？

Yes. So to clarify, for us to build out our network, we've talked about 20 satellites on equatorial, 90 to get global coverage and then another 58 on top of that for MIMO. And so those are intentionally phased, right, so that we can build out our network as we go and retain flexibility. So that's how we think about our network build and our network design over time. As it relates to the 5 satellites that we've given guidance on for next year, those are satellites that could play in either of those networks, quite frankly. So the satellites to come beyond it don't necessarily fill out the 20 or the 90. Those are just how we have designed the first 5 with is nearly identical to the BlueWalker 3 design as possible in order to accelerate their development and construction. And so that's how we've thought about the next 5, and how it links to the other network builds that we've talked about.

是的。所以澄清一下，為了我們建立我們的網絡，我們已經討論了赤道上的 20 顆衛星，90 顆衛星用於全球覆蓋，然後另外 58 顆衛星用於 MIMO。所以這些是有意分階段的，對吧，這樣我們就可以在我們前進的過程中建立我們的網絡並保持靈活性。這就是我們隨著時間的推移思考我們的網絡構建和網絡設計的方式。由於它與我們為明年提供指導的 5 顆衛星有關，坦率地說，這些衛星可以在這兩個網絡中的任何一個中發揮作用。因此，超越它的衛星不一定是 20 顆或 90 顆。這就是我們設計前 5 顆的方式，並儘可能與 BlueWalker 3 設計相同，以加速它們的開發和建設。這就是我們如何考慮接下來的 5 個，以及它如何鏈接到我們已經討論過的其他網絡構建。

Okay. For the 2 phases, do you have a sense of the time line for when you'd have, I guess, 110 satellites in orbit?

好的。對於這 2 個階段，您是否知道何時會有 110 顆衛星進入軌道？

Yes. The guidance we've given on time line is those 5 satellites for late 2023. And then in 2024, we're going to be building as fast as we can, ramping into that 6 per month cadence. So at what point do we get to those total completed numbers, we haven't given guidance on that. But our objective is to build and launch 5 as quickly as possible and follow the more satellites being on top of that in 2024.

是的。我們在時間表上給出的指導是 2023 年底的那 5 顆衛星。然後在 2024 年，我們將盡可能快地建造，以每月 6 顆的節奏增加。那麼我們在什麼時候得到這些完成的總數，我們還沒有給出指導。但我們的目標是盡快建造並發射 5 顆衛星，並在 2024 年跟進更多衛星。

Okay. And then just my last question. Earlier in the call, there was mention of an interest in accelerating some R&D goals or projects that the funding can be secured for those. Can you give more color on what exactly -- what kind of R&D you hope to do and what impact that might have on the constellation or service rollout?

好的。然後是我的最後一個問題。在電話會議的早些時候，有人提到有興趣加速一些研發目標或項目，可以為這些目標或項目提供資金。您能否詳細說明您希望進行什麼樣的研發，以及這可能對星座或服務推出產生什麼影響？

I'll start and then Abel will add some things. We have a variety of R&D projects, whether it's in the RF side or solar or some of the components of the satellite. So we're going to continue to spend money because we are going to continue to improve the power of the satellite, the RF capacity, and that will continue on what my point was that we might bring some of those expenditures forward so we could accelerate the launch of the constellation in order to get to market sooner. So we just want to give you a update -- good guidance for how much we're going to spend over the (inaudible). Abel?

我先開始，然後 Abel 會添加一些內容。我們有各種各樣的研發項目，無論是在 RF 方面還是在太陽能方面，還是在衛星的某些組件方面。所以我們將繼續花錢，因為我們將繼續提高衛星的功率，RF 容量，並且這將繼續我的觀點是我們可能會提前一些支出，以便我們可以加速星座的發射是為了更快地進入市場。所以我們只想給你一個更新——關於我們將在（聽不清）上花費多少的良好指導。亞伯？

Yes. I mean the primary areas of R&D, we have our own ASIC. The ASIC will be part of the upgrade as we move forward. So we can continue to use this architecture for up to the first 20 satellites. And we continue to progress on our ASIC development manufacturing, which is entered into the last phase of production. We will be completing that R&D phase. We also on pretty much all major subsystems have been internally developed in order to make them at a cost that is not available in the market today, including our own solar panels, our own reaction wheels, our own avionics, our own fly system. So there is a number of -- and then the whole system is fully integrated and tested in our own facility. So that's what we refer to as an R&D and that we will continue to lower because of our satellites.

是的。我的意思是研發的主要領域，我們有自己的 ASIC。隨著我們的前進，ASIC 將成為升級的一部分。所以我們可以繼續將這種架構用於前 20 顆衛星。我們繼續推進我們的 ASIC 開發製造，進入生產的最後階段。我們將完成研發階段。我們還對幾乎所有主要子系統進行了內部開發，以便以當今市場上無法提供的成本製造它們，包括我們自己的太陽能電池板、我們自己的反應輪、我們自己的航空電子設備、我們自己的飛行系統。所以有很多 - 然後整個系統在我們自己的設施中完全集成和測試。這就是我們所說的研發，由於我們的衛星，我們將繼續降低。

At this time, I'm showing no further questions. I would like to turn the call back over to management for closing remarks.

目前，我沒有進一步提問。我想將電話轉回給管理層以作結束語。

Thank you, operator. Our company is building a space-based cellular broadband network designed for the use of the phone in your pocket today. And with today's announcement, we're very happy to speak to you, and I want to thank everyone for joining both the shareholders and analysts for their questions, and wish everybody a great week.

謝謝你，運營商。我們公司正在建設一個基於空間的蜂窩寬帶網絡，專為今天您口袋裡的電話使用而設計。對於今天的公告，我們很高興與您交談，我要感謝大家與股東和分析師一起提出問題，並祝大家度過愉快的一周。

This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。