{"id":640953,"date":"2026-04-15T10:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=640953"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T08:30:23","slug":"amazon-ramps-up-starlink-fight-by-buying-apple-satellite-partner-for-r190-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadband\/640953-amazon-ramps-up-starlink-fight-by-buying-apple-satellite-partner-for-r190-billion.html","title":{"rendered":"Amazon ramps up Starlink fight by buying Apple satellite partner for R190 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amazon.com\u2019s $11.6-billion (R189.73 billion) deal to buy Globalstar ramps up competition with Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink in satellite communications, a market predicted to double to $200 billion (R3.27 trillion) in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Amazon announced plans to buy the satellite operator for a mix of stock and up to $90 a share and said that in 2028, it will launch a direct-to-device service, offering connectivity straight to people\u2019s mobile devices as an alternative to traditional cell towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Globalstar, Amazon will gain radio frequency licenses that are key to the company advancing its satellite-to-mobile services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The e-commerce giant has been\u00a0trying\u00a0for years to break into satellite services to gain new sources of growth beyond its enormous retail and cloud-computing businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But its efforts have been hampered by delays from rocket builders and a\u00a0slow start\u00a0to its manufacturing operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Musk\u2019s Starlink, a division of SpaceX, has sprinted ahead with a network of 10,000 satellites in orbit serving 10 million people and developing a reputation for reliable internet service in hard-to-reach areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the acquisition, \u201ccustomers can expect faster, more reliable service in more places \u2014 keeping them connected to the people and things that matter most,\u201d said Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, in a statement<\/a> announcing the deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon is offering Globalstar shareholders either $90 in cash per share, or 0.32 shares of Amazon stock with a value capped at $90 a share, according to the statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That represents a nearly 117% premium over Globalstar\u2019s price from late October, before Bloomberg\u00a0reported\u00a0that the company was exploring a potential sale.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globalstar shareholders will get a chance to choose whether they want to receive a mix of cash and Amazon stock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cash amount will be prorated depending on how many shareholders elect to be paid that way with total cash capped at 40% of the shares, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisition, Amazon\u2019s second largest after its\u00a0Whole Foods takeover, is expected to close in 2027.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bloomberg News\u00a0reported\u00a0earlier that Amazon was in advanced talks to buy Globalstar. The satellite company\u2019s shares jumped 9.6% to close at $79.91 in New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon shares rose 3.8% to $249.02. AST SpaceMobile, a major competitor in the direct-to-device segment, fell almost 11% to $88.57.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple satellite service migrating to Amazon LEO<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amazon also said Tuesday that Apple\u2019s emergency messaging service will transition to Amazon Leo, the company\u2019s\u00a0recently renamed\u00a0broadband satellite network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding Apple as a customer could be a coup for Leo, which has lagged behind SpaceX\u2019s Starlink unit in signing major partners such as airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon Leo has been primarily focused on providing broadband internet services with its satellite constellation, which requires customers to tap into the system using a personal user antenna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in recent years, the emergence of the potentially lucrative direct-to-device market has become an attractive opportunity for satellite operators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology entails \u200b\u200busing satellites to provide connectivity to unmodified smartphones on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SpaceX has already sought to augment its Starlink broadband system with satellite-to-device capabilities by launching satellites geared toward mobile phone connectivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And in 2025, SpaceX agreed to buy EchoStar\u2019s satellite spectrum \u2014 radio frequencies licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to communicate with spacecraft \u2013 in a\u00a0$17 billion deal<\/a>\u00a0to boost its offerings in this realm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon Leo\u2019s roughly 200 satellites in orbit are running limited commercial tests, and the company has a goal of eventually operating more than 7,700 satellites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Amazon\u00a0asked<\/a>\u00a0the FCC to waive or extend a deadline to have 1,600 satellites aloft by July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Globalstar operates a satellite system in orbit, the company only has a couple dozen active satellites in operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real value of the acquisition for Amazon lies in Globalstar\u2019s spectrum \u2014 the radio frequencies it has been licensed by the FCC to communicate with its satellites, said Caleb Henry, director of research at Quilty Space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such spectrum, distinct from what Amazon already uses for its broadband satellite system, will be necessary in order for the company to move forward with direct-to-device capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmazon has now repeatedly claimed that their satellite system will offer better service than what\u2019s out there now, and so they clearly believe that they are building up a capability that will challenge and beat Starlink,\u201d Henry said. \u201cThey\u2019re very bullish on that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy \u201cwould not be able to make a claim like that without first acquiring spectrum,\u201d Henry added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial deals with mobile networks and airlines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Doug Stoltz, director of cabin systems engineering at United Airlines, left, and Monal Merchant, director of TechOps Strategy at United Airlines, display a Starlink setup during a media preview at Nashville International Airport on Wednesday, 5 March, 2025. Photographer: Seth Herald\/Bloomberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Until now, the two leading players in the direct-to-device market have been SpaceX and Midland, Texas-based AST. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SpaceX has joined with T-Mobile US to provide connectivity via Starlink satellites to areas without traditional land-based cell service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AST has partnerships with operators such as AT&T and Verizon Communications, but is still at the early stage of launching its satellite network.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FCC Chair Brendan Carr signaled an openness to the Amazon-Globalstar deal, saying in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that the acquisition could potentially bring a new competitor to an emerging market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon\u2019s satellite business\u00a0last month\u00a0signed a deal with Delta Air Lines, with the carrier agreeing to use Leo to provide in-flight Wi-Fi service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starlink has many more partners, though, including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Air France, and Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globalstar, whose chief executive officer Paul Jacobs is a former Qualcomm CEO, currently underpins satellite service on the iPhone 14 and later editions, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It allows users to do things like send messages, reach emergency services, request roadside assistance and share their location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globalstar had been cash-constrained, but Apple\u2019s support gave it a \u201cnew lease on life,\u201d Henry said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving the backing of Amazon turbocharges their ability to provide direct-to-cell service in a way that might have been too expensive otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The real value of the acquisition for Amazon lies in GlobalStar\u2019s spectrum \u2014 the radio frequencies it has been licensed by the FCC to communicate with its satellites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341034,"featured_media":640967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[723,102384,605,101538,78924,70389,48987],"class_list":["post-640953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadband","tag-amazon","tag-amazon-leo","tag-apple","tag-globalstar","tag-low-earth-orbit-leo-satellites","tag-panos-panay","tag-starlink"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640953"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":640972,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640953\/revisions\/640972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}