What the US$11.6B Deal Means for Satellite

Amazon just acquired Globalstar for US$11.6 billion, the clearest signal yet that the satellite connectivity market is consolidating around two players, and Starlink should be paying attention.

Under the deal announced on April 14, Amazon will acquire Globalstar’s existing satellite operations, infrastructure, and assets, including mobile satellite services spectrum licences with global authorisations, and Amazon Leo will use them to add direct-to-device (D2D) services to its low Earth orbit network. 

D2D is the capability that lets a standard smartphone connect to a satellite without any specialist hardware, which is why the last part of the deal is the piece that matters most.  Whoever owns the spectrum to deliver it owns the relationship with every mobile user on the planet who falls outside terrestrial network range.

Until now, Amazon Leo–the rebranded successor to Project Kuiper–was primarily a broadband play targeting enterprises, airlines, and governments. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy had just days earlier touted, according to an article by TechCrunch, Amazon Leo’s customer roster, which already includes Delta Airlines, AT&T, Vodafone, Australia’s National Broadband Network, and NASA. Broadband connectivity is a strong foundation. 

But D2D is where the consumer mass market lives, and Globalstar hands Amazon that door key along with decades of spectrum rights that would have otherwise taken years of regulatory lobbying to acquire independently.

Spectrum is the real prize

The US$11.6 billion acquisition is the culmination of a strategic shift that began in late 2025 when Amazon quietly rebranded Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo. While Kuiper was focused primarily on residential and enterprise broadband, Amazon Leo encompasses a two-tier strategy: high-speed broadband and a newly integrated D2D platform. 

By absorbing Globalstar, Amazon immediately gains 24 operational satellites, a global ground station network, and, critically, Globalstar’s S-band spectrum licences. This spectrum is the “digital real estate” required to transmit data directly to standard smartphones without specialised ground terminals, and Globalstar’s existing regulatory framework with the FCC and international bodies gives Amazon a fast pass that would have taken years of litigation to achieve independently. 

The Apple dimension adds another layer. Amazon and Apple have entered a separate agreement for Amazon Leo to power satellite services for iPhone and Apple Watch, including Emergency SOS via satellite. Globalstar previously powered that feature. Rather than disrupting the arrangement, Amazon has taken it over and extended it, locking in one of the world’s most valuable consumer hardware platforms as an Amazon Leo anchor partner from day one.

What does this mean for mobile operators?

Amazon Leo’s D2D system is designed to help mobile network operators extend voice, text, and data services to customers beyond the reach of terrestrial cellular networks, with Amazon planning to deploy its own next-generation D2D satellite system beginning in 2028. On paper, this is a complementary offer to MNOs. 

In practice, it also means Amazon owns the fallback network layer that carriers will increasingly depend on to fulfil coverage obligations, deliver IoT connectivity across remote infrastructure, and meet government universal service requirements.

The competitive gap with Starlink, while still real, is closing fast. Starlink currently has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and over nine million users, a lead that Amazon Leo cannot close overnight. But spectrum and D2D capability were the two structural gaps that made Amazon Leo look like broadband with ambition rather than a full connectivity play. Both gaps just got filled.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency is “very open-minded” to the acquisition, noting its potential to make Amazon a genuine competitor to SpaceX in direct-to-cell services. Regulatory clearance is expected to follow, with the deal set to close in 2027.

The satellite internet market is no longer a race with one clear front-runner. With Amazon Leo now holding Globalstar’s spectrum, Apple’s partnership, and a growing enterprise customer base, the question for telcos–and for Starlink–is less about if Amazon catches up, and more about how fast.

See also: Deutsche Telekom upgrades Industry 4.0 with Starlink backhaul

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