{"id":2026032841,"date":"2026-04-14T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/?p=2026032841"},"modified":"2026-04-18T11:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:01:08","slug":"amazon-buys-globalstar-and-challenges-starlink-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/en\/amazon-buys-globalstar-and-challenges-starlink-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon buys Globalstar and challenges Starlink in space"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazon announced the acquisition of Globalstar<\/a> in a deal worth $11.57 billion. Under the agreement, Globalstar shareholders can choose either $90 in cash per share or 0.3210 Amazon shares for each share they own, with the value in any case capped at $90 per share. The total amount payable in cash may not exceed 40% of the overall consideration, and the payment may be reduced by up to $110 million if Globalstar fails to meet certain operational targets. Shareholders holding about 58% of the voting rights have already approved the transaction in writing. Closing is expected in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and the achievement of specific milestones related to the HIBLEO-4 replacement satellites.<\/p>\n

With this move, Amazon takes control of a satellite operator based in Covington, Louisiana, active in voice, data, and asset-tracking services for enterprise, government, and consumer customers, and currently operating a constellation of around two dozen low Earth orbit satellites.<\/p>\n

How it works: what Amazon gets and what it plans to do with it<\/h2>\n

The deal gives Amazon Globalstar\u2019s satellite operations, infrastructure, operating assets, and above all its MSS spectrum licenses with global authorizations. For Amazon, the point is not just adding satellites: it is adding frequencies, an already operational network, and expertise in satellite mobile services and direct-to-device.<\/p>\n

Globalstar currently operates around 24 LEO satellites and 24 ground stations spread across six continents, with coverage in more than 120 countries. Its network supports Industrial IoT services, SPOT devices for tracking and SOS, as well as voice and data solutions for areas without cellular coverage.<\/p>\n

Amazon Leo, Amazon\u2019s satellite project, already has more than 200 satellites in orbit and is targeting an initial constellation of more than 3,000 units. Reuters reports a goal of around 3,200 satellites by 2029, with about half deployed by the July 2026 regulatory deadline. At the end of March, Amazon said it had launched 214 satellites since April 2025, planned to more than double the pace over the following 12 months, and had already secured around 100 launches with Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance, and SpaceX, within an investment of at least $10 billion.<\/p>\n

The most concrete part of the deal is direct-to-device. Amazon announced that starting in 2028, Amazon Leo will begin deploying its own next-generation D2D system to deliver voice, data, and messaging services directly to phones and other cellular devices beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. Apple is also part of the package: Amazon and Apple signed an agreement under which Amazon Leo will continue powering satellite services on supported iPhone and Apple Watch models, including Emergency SOS via satellite, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistance. Globalstar was already Apple\u2019s partner: in November 2024, Apple announced an investment of up to $1.5 billion in Globalstar, including $1.1 billion in cash and $400 million to acquire a 20% stake, also securing 85% of the network\u2019s capacity. Also in 2024, Globalstar said that the new Apple-backed network would bring the constellation to 54 satellites, including some backups.<\/p>\n

Reactions and conflicts<\/h2>\n

The main conflict is with Starlink. Today, SpaceX\u2019s service remains far ahead: around 10,000 satellites in orbit and more than 9 million users worldwide. Amazon is much further behind, but it is accelerating on multiple fronts: consumer network, enterprise, aviation, and now direct-to-device. On March 31, it had already signed a deal with Delta to bring satellite Wi-Fi to 500 aircraft starting in 2028, after a previous agreement with JetBlue. Starlink, however, is already present or contracted with airlines such as United, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Southwest.<\/p>\n

Then there is the regulatory clash. In January, Amazon asked the FCC for a two-year extension on the July 2026 deadline for deploying half the constellation, a request criticized by SpaceX. The market reaction was immediate: Globalstar rose by more than 9% in premarket trading, after already gaining more than 6% in the previous two weeks on rumors of the deal. The stock had nearly doubled in value in 2025 and was already up 12% since the start of 2026 before the announcement. Amazon rose by about 1%.<\/p>\n

The battle, meanwhile, is no longer just about rural areas. Today, satellite internet also means aviation, shipping, defense, emergency messaging, and direct-to-phone services.<\/p>\n

Amazon did not just buy a company: it bought satellites, spectrum, ties with Apple, and a concrete shortcut into direct-to-device. The question now is whether this acceleration will really be enough to narrow the advantage accumulated by Starlink in launches, users, and execution speed, in a contest increasingly tied to who owns the global internet infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon compra Globalstar per 11,57 miliardi e rafforza la sfida a Starlink: satelliti, Apple, direct-to-device e guerra per internet satellitare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2026032817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/?p=2026032816","footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[143,159,148],"class_list":["post-2026032841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tecnologia","tag-big-tech","tag-mobile","tag-war","en-US"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026032841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2026032841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026032841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2026032842,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2026032841\/revisions\/2026032842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2026032817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026032841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2026032841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terzapillola.it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2026032841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}