Amazon has agreed a $11.5 billion deal to buy satellite company Globalstar to add scale, spectrum, and services to its fledgling Leo proposition; it has also extended a satellite airtime contract with Apple, and, via Globalstar’s XCOM RAN subsidiary and terrestrial n53 license, effectively re-entered the private 5G market
In sum – what to know:
D2D constellation – Amazon is to acquire Globalstar for $11.57 billion (in 2027), enabling new D2D services, to be expanded in 2028, and strengthening competition with Starlink.
Apple devices – Amazon has extended a satellite airtime contract with Apple to support smartphone/watch products for emergency messages, location services, and sundry texting.
Private networks – The deal covers Globalstar’s satellite L/S-band and terrestrial n53 spectrum; the latter, as sold by XCOM RAN, will see Amazon re-enter the private 5G market.
As reported everywhere: Amazon has signed a deal to acquire satellite company Globalstar for $11.57 billion to bolster its own Amazon Leo start-up space business and, ostensibly, to take the fight to Starlink, the low-Earth orbit (LEO) operator owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It will mean Amazon Leo can add direct-to-device (D2D) services to its LEO network. Besides, Amazon and Apple have a new deal for Amazon Leo to deliver satellite services for its handsets and watches, including for emergency SOS calls.
The deal covers Globalstar’s satellite operations, infrastructure, and assets, including its lower-frequency mobile satellite service (MSS) licenses. Globalstar owns and operates L-band and S-band (uplink and downlink) at 1.6 GHz (1610-1618.725 MHz) and 2.4 GHz (2483.5-2500 MHz), with some licensed overlap with Iridium at 1.6 GHz (1617.775–1618.725 MHz), as well. (Amazon Leo operates in the higher Ka-band, at 27.5 GHz, 28.4545-28.9485 GHz, and 29.5-30 GHz.) Of note, Globalstar also holds terrestrial Band 53/n53 rights at 2.4GHz (2483.5-2495 MHz).
Its XCOM RAN subsidiary uses its n53 license to offer private 4G/5G to enterprises on the ground, twinned in the US with shared n48 CBRS spectrum at 3.5 GHz (3550-3700 MHz). And so, by luck or design, Amazon is back in the private 5G game – after quitting the scene last year, having offered a third-party ecosystem bundle since 2021. Amazon said it will work with mobile operators (MNOs) to offer “continuous” D2D satellite connectivity for consumers, enterprises, and government customers in out-of-reach terrestrial blackspots and not-spots – “no matter where they are”, it said.
It said it will deploy its own next-generation D2D satellite system from 2028 (“beginning in”, it said) with “higher spectrum use and efficiency than legacy D2D systems”. The new constellation will integrate with its first- and second-gen systems, which have so far been used for fixed broadband with sizable gateway (CPE) equipment – as a “unified” non-terrestrial network (NTN) proposition to combine fixed and mobile satellite services. Globalstar’s existing fleet and expanded fleets will operate alongside the Amazon Leo fixed and mobile NTN systems.
The parallel deal with Apple extends a Globalstar contract to provide satellite connectivity for the California firm’s iPhone (14-17 models) and Apple Watch (Ultra 3 devices) products; Amazon will support future Apple products, it said. As it stands, Apple customers can use the Globalstar network to text emergency services, request roadside assistance, share their location, and also send sundry texts. Amazon has an “initial” constellation of around 3,000 LEO satellites, connected via ground gateway antennas and fiber – and built and operated “in-house” by Amazon.
The Globalstar transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approval – plus certain FCC conditions for Globalstar around “replacement satellite milestones”.
Paul Jacobs, chief executive at Globalstar, said: “LEO satellite constellations offer the most effective path to connect users and devices anywhere and anytime. For more than 30 years, Globalstar has executed on this vision through sustained, long-term investment in technological innovation, operational excellence, and development of globally harmonized spectrum across both satellite and terrestrial applications. The combination with Amazon Leo will advance innovations in digital connectivity that will benefit our customers and advance us toward a more intelligent, continuously connected world.”
On the private networks angle, XCOM RAN has just launched its own “end-to-end” private 5G solution with its own indoor and outdoor open RAN radios, core network, industrial routers, and multi-tenant management and orchestration software; it retains support for third-party core providers as well. It is pitching the solution for “adoption of physical AI for automation initiatives across industries”, it said. Alongside Globalstar’s own 2.4 GHz spectrum, plus the shared CBRS band in the US, the new system also supports the key n78 band (3.8-4.2 GHz) in Europe and Asia.
