Amazon is in talks to acquire Globalstar, the satellite communications company best known for its partnership with Apple, in a deal that would dramatically expand Amazon’s space ambitions beyond its already massive Project Kuiper broadband initiative. The negotiations, first reported by Quartz, signal that Jeff Bezos’s company isn’t content merely launching its own constellation—it wants to own established orbital infrastructure too.
The discussions are ongoing, and no final agreement has been reached. But the mere existence of these talks has sent Globalstar’s stock surging and raised pointed questions about what Amazon actually wants from a company whose most prominent customer is its biggest rival in consumer hardware.
Globalstar operates a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites that provide voice and data services across the globe. The Covington, Louisiana-based company has been around since the late 1990s, surviving a bankruptcy in 2012 before finding new life through a landmark 2022 deal with Apple. That agreement made Globalstar the backbone of the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature—a function that lets users send distress messages when they’re beyond cellular range. Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion to Globalstar as part of that arrangement, including prepayments for satellite services and funding for new satellite launches.
For Amazon, the logic of an acquisition cuts several ways at once.
Kuiper’s Missing Piece—and the Spectrum Play
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s $10 billion-plus bet on satellite broadband, designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon plans to deploy 3,236 satellites into low-Earth orbit to deliver high-speed internet to underserved and unserved areas worldwide. The company launched its first prototype satellites in late 2023 and has secured launch contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance. But Kuiper has been playing catch-up. Starlink already has more than 6,000 satellites in orbit and millions of subscribers. Amazon hasn’t yet begun commercial service.
Acquiring Globalstar would give Amazon something it can’t easily build from scratch: operational satellite infrastructure that’s already in orbit and already generating revenue. It would also hand Amazon valuable radio frequency spectrum. Spectrum is the lifeblood of any satellite communications business, and Globalstar holds licensed bands in the S-band and L-band that could complement Kuiper’s Ka-band capacity. More spectrum means more flexibility—and more bandwidth to serve customers in congested areas or to offer differentiated products like direct-to-device connectivity.
That last point matters enormously. Direct-to-device—the ability for standard smartphones to connect to satellites without specialized hardware—is the hottest frontier in telecommunications. Apple proved the consumer appetite exists. T-Mobile and SpaceX are partnering on a similar service. AST SpaceMobile is building satellites specifically for this purpose. Amazon, despite all its ambitions in space, doesn’t currently have a direct-to-device play. Globalstar would give it one overnight.
And then there’s the Apple question.
Globalstar derives a significant portion of its revenue from its Apple contract. If Amazon acquires Globalstar, it would effectively become a critical infrastructure provider to Apple—a company with which it competes fiercely in smart speakers, streaming, tablets, and voice assistants. The strategic implications are hard to overstate. Apple would find itself dependent on an Amazon subsidiary for one of the iPhone’s signature safety features.
Apple, for its part, has been investing heavily in reducing such dependencies. The company has explored building its own satellite capabilities, according to reports from Bloomberg, and has hired engineers with satellite and wireless technology expertise. An Amazon acquisition of Globalstar could accelerate Apple’s timeline for bringing those capabilities in-house—or force a renegotiation of terms that gives Apple more control over the arrangement.
Neither Amazon nor Globalstar has commented publicly on the talks. Apple has not responded to requests for comment.
A Satellite Industry in Rapid Consolidation
The Amazon-Globalstar discussions don’t exist in a vacuum. The satellite communications industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation not seen since the early 2000s. Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat in 2023 for roughly $7.3 billion. SES agreed to acquire Intelsat for $3.1 billion, a deal expected to close in 2025. Private equity firms have circled smaller operators. The common thread: companies are racing to assemble the spectrum holdings, ground infrastructure, and orbital assets needed to compete in an era when satellite connectivity is moving from niche to mainstream.
Globalstar’s market capitalization hovered around $2.5 billion before news of the Amazon talks broke. The stock jumped sharply on the reports, reflecting investor expectations that any Amazon offer would come at a premium. For Globalstar shareholders—including its largest investor, Thermo Companies, controlled by Chairman Jay Monroe—an Amazon buyout would represent a remarkable outcome for a company that once traded in penny-stock territory.
But the deal faces potential hurdles. Regulatory scrutiny is one. The Federal Communications Commission would need to approve any transfer of Globalstar’s spectrum licenses, and given Amazon’s existing spectrum holdings through Kuiper, regulators may examine whether the combined entity would hold too much orbital and spectral power. Antitrust reviewers at the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission could also weigh in, particularly given Amazon’s dominance across multiple sectors.
There’s also the question of what happens to Globalstar’s existing customers and partners beyond Apple. Globalstar provides satellite-based asset tracking, maritime communications, and IoT connectivity services to a range of commercial and government clients. These customers would need assurances about service continuity and pricing under Amazon’s ownership.
The financial structure of any deal presents its own complexities. Globalstar carries significant debt—partly from the capital expenditures required to refresh its satellite constellation and build ground stations to support the Apple contract. Amazon would likely need to absorb or refinance this debt as part of an acquisition. That’s not a dealbreaker for a company with Amazon’s balance sheet, but it adds layers to the negotiation.
Some industry analysts see the potential acquisition as a natural extension of Amazon’s broader infrastructure strategy. The company already operates one of the world’s largest cloud computing platforms in AWS, runs a massive logistics network including cargo aircraft and delivery vehicles, and is building out Kuiper. Adding an established satellite operator would deepen Amazon’s vertical integration in communications infrastructure.
Others are more skeptical. Owning satellites is capital-intensive and operationally complex. Globalstar’s constellation is aging—many of its second-generation satellites launched between 2010 and 2013—and will eventually need replacement. Amazon would inherit both the revenue streams and the capex obligations.
Still, the strategic value of Globalstar’s spectrum alone could justify the price. Spectrum doesn’t depreciate. It doesn’t need replacement launches. And in an industry where new orbital frequency allocations are increasingly scarce and contested, existing licensed bands are extraordinarily valuable.
What This Means for the Space Economy
If consummated, an Amazon acquisition of Globalstar would mark the largest purchase of a satellite operator by a Big Tech company. Google invested $500 million in SpaceX in 2015 but never bought a satellite operator outright. Microsoft partnered with multiple satellite companies through its Azure Orbital program but similarly hasn’t acquired one. Amazon would be crossing a line that its peers have so far only approached.
The implications extend beyond Amazon. A deal would likely trigger a reassessment of valuations across the satellite sector. AST SpaceMobile, Iridium, and Orbcomm would all see renewed investor interest as potential acquisition targets. It would validate the thesis that satellite connectivity is becoming essential infrastructure—not a speculative bet—and that the companies controlling it will be among the most strategically important in tech and telecommunications.
For SpaceX, the competitive picture would sharpen further. Starlink is the clear market leader in satellite broadband, but an Amazon that combines Kuiper’s planned constellation with Globalstar’s existing assets, spectrum, and direct-to-device capabilities would present a more formidable challenger than Kuiper alone. Elon Musk and Bezos have long competed in space through their respective rocket companies. This would bring that rivalry squarely into the satellite services market.
The timing is also notable. Amazon faces an FCC deadline to deploy at least half of its Kuiper constellation by July 2026. The company has been ramping production at its satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland, Washington, and has begun regular launch cadences. But integrating Globalstar’s assets could provide a bridge—operational satellite capacity that generates revenue while Kuiper’s constellation is still being built out.
There’s a version of this deal that makes Globalstar’s existing business a complement to Kuiper rather than a redundancy. Kuiper is designed for broadband—high-throughput internet access. Globalstar’s strengths lie in narrowband services: messaging, asset tracking, emergency communications. Together, they could offer customers a full range of satellite connectivity options under one corporate umbrella. That’s an appealing proposition for enterprise clients, government agencies, and device manufacturers looking for a single partner.
Amazon Web Services could also benefit. AWS already offers ground station-as-a-service through its AWS Ground Station product, which lets customers communicate with their own satellites through Amazon-managed antenna facilities. Owning Globalstar’s ground infrastructure—which includes gateway stations around the world—would expand that footprint and create new service offerings for AWS customers in defense, intelligence, and commercial remote sensing.
The deal, if it happens, won’t be small. And it won’t be simple. But it reflects a fundamental truth about where the technology industry is headed: the companies that control connectivity—from fiber to wireless to satellite—will hold outsized power in the decades ahead. Amazon clearly intends to be one of them.
Negotiations continue. The sky, quite literally, is the market.
WebProNews is an iEntry Publication