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US agency approves Amazon Leo’s $11.5B acquisition of Globalstar

US agency approves Amazon Leo’s $11.5B acquisition of Globalstar

noptd

Comments (94)

  • hbarka
    Globalstar is a study in corporate survival. It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.Consider the journey:2002: Bankruptcy.2007: Satellite amplifier failures threatened its voice service.2010–2013: A replacement constellation helped restore capacity.2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.2024: Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion in investment and infrastructure funding.Now: This acquisition by Amazon would bring Globalstar's satellite assets and spectrum into Amazon's competition with Starlink, while preserving satellite services for Apple devices.Iridium has a museum: iridium museum.com
  • interloxia
    The link didn't work for me.https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...US agency approves Amazon Leo’s $11.5 billion acquisition of Globalstar By David Shepardson October 27, 2026
  • joecool1029
    The news is that the FCC approved the acquisition. It was already announced back in April that Amazon would be purchasing Globalstar. I don’t think anyone expected it to be held up by regulators.Edit: proper link to it https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...
  • Eden09
    Previous discussion about the deal on HN (119 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183
  • prirun
    From https://www.globalstar.com/en-us/resource-center/articles/ba...Band n53 adds premium midrange spectrum to the premium performance of XCOM RAN. As midband spectrum, it provides a balance of speed and coverage for 5G with download speeds up to 250 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps, wider coverage than millimeter-wave frequencies and greater efficiency than lower bands for better throughput. If you run the wireless networks that run the world, the combination of band n53 and XCOM RAN is a marriage made in heaven. Learn more in the Terrestrial Wireless section at www.globalstar.com.
  • paxy
    The deal was announced in April. It just got FCC approval.
  • arlattimore
    Starlink have over 11,000 satellites in orbit.Globalstar have 24 satellites in orbit (at least according to Google).How does this acquisition by Amazon meaningfully expand Leo to compete against Starlink?
  • SeanAnderson
    Kind of an interesting acquisition, no?Why is Amazon interested in Globalstar? The first thing that comes to my mind is like... Amazon's lowkey business model is "pick unsexy, logistics-heavy areas and just Do The Work better than others until a niche is carved out."And from that POV I think the acquisition makes sense, but I'm not sure how this benefits the existing constellation of Amazon IP. Is it more like an attempt to have a relevant AWS-like play but for satcom because they see demand in that area growing a ton? Okay sure but is Globalstar really getting you that unlock?
  • jedbrooke
    I bet this is about about acquiring spectrum rights or something
  • sebmellen
    404 for me
  • ChrisArchitect
  • gkanai
    How does Globalstar's offering compare to Starlink?
  • kotaKat
    On the same note: https://investors.globalstar.com/news-releases/news-release-...The new direct-to-device network Amazon is getting their hands on is now approved and live on the air.
  • sourcecodeplz
    if you can't beat 'em, join 'em
  • aboardRat4
    Just use Thuraya or Inmarsat.
  • hnisjafx40
    [dead]
  • krylonmae
    [dead]
  • 0xy
    Every satellite internet provider other than Starlink is complete garbage. Slow, unreliable, useless.