Amazon has struck a landmark $11.57 billion deal to buy satellite firm Globalstar, intensifying its push into space-based internet services just as competition with Elon Musk’s Starlink heats up.
The agreement, revealed on Tuesday, bolsters Project Kuiper, Amazon’s long-term plan to deploy thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites for global broadband and mobile connectivity.
After years of development, including FCC approvals and test launches since late 2024, the acquisition gives Amazon immediate access to Globalstar’s 50 operational satellites. This helps bridge the gap as the tech giant aims to launch a next-generation network by 2028, aligning with its “long-term vision for space-based connectivity.”
Starlink, launched by Musk in 2019 as a SpaceX subsidiary, holds a commanding lead with over 10,000 satellites serving more than 10 million customers. The service generates an estimated $500 million to $1.2 billion annually from user fees alone, supporting SpaceX’s planned public listing this year at a valuation expected to top $1 trillion.
Amazon’s Kuiper currently operates around 200 satellites, but it has secured pledges from key partners including Delta Airlines, JetBlue, AT&T, Vodafone, DIRECTV Latin America, Australia’s National Broadband Network, and NASA, as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy noted in his annual shareholder letter. The deal also transfers Globalstar’s worldwide facilities in the U.S., Ireland, Brazil, France, and California.
Founded in 1991, Globalstar specialises in satellite communications and powers Apple’s emergency SOS feature on iPhones and Apple Watches since 2022; Apple took a 20 per cent stake last year. Amazon confirmed it will maintain this “SOS” capability through a new pact with Apple.
Traded publicly with a $10 billion market cap, Globalstar shareholders receive $90 per share in cash or Amazon stock, a 40 per cent premium. The move comes amid a booming LEO sector, where rivals like Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin plan thousands of satellites for business use by 2027, China’s GuoWang eyes 13,000 craft, and others chase a projected $30 billion market by 2030.
For Amazon, Kuiper offers a fresh revenue stream beyond e-commerce and cloud computing, potentially worth billions as demand for reliable global internet surges.