Amazon Acquire Satellite Company Globalstar to Compete With Starlink

Amazon announced today that it was acquiring US satellite company Globalstar for $11.57 billion. The company plans to leverage Globalstar’s satellite services to improve Leo, its low Earth orbit satellite network, which will gain new direct-to-device (D2D) services for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features.

As part of the transaction, Amazon will obtain all of Globalstar’s existing satellite operations, infrastructure, and assets. “Globalstar’s existing satellite fleet and its new satellites with expanded capabilities will operate alongside the Amazon Leo broadband system and Amazon’s planned direct-to-device satellite system,” Amazon explained in a press release.

Globalstar was already powering satellite emergency services on the iPhone 14 and later and select Apple Watch models, and Apple currently owns 20% of the company. “With the new Amazon-Apple agreement, Amazon will continue to support iPhone and Apple Watch models currently using Globalstar’s existing and planned upcoming low Earth orbit satellite constellations, being manufactured by MDA Space, and collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using Amazon Leo’s expanded satellite network,” Amazon said today.

In addition to satellite features for Apple devices, Amazon also plans to use Globalstar’s infrastructure to start deploying a next-generation direct-to-device system in 2028. This will allow Amazon Leo to better compete with Starlink and offer “more advanced voice, data, and messaging services to mobile phones and other cellular devices.” In the future, Amazon expects its Leo network to have thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit with “enough capacity to support hundreds of millions of customer endpoints around the world.”

Amazon expects the acquisition to be completed in 2027, assuming it gets the green light from regulators around the world. “We’re excited to support Apple users through the Leo D2D system, and look forward to working with mobile network partners to help extend coverage to every corner of the planet,” said Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Amazon.