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Amazon has revealed that it’s taking over Apple’s 20% stake in Globalstar as part of its $11.6 billion acquisition of the satellite communications provider.
The details are outlined in an Amazon filing with the Federal Communications Commission, urging the US regulator to sign off on the acquisition as the e-commerce giant tries to compete with SpaceX in satellite connectivity.
Amazon is creating a subsidiary, “Grapefruit Acquisition Sub II,” to conduct the merger. The subsidiary will also acquire Apple’s 20% equity and voting interests in Globalstar, which the iPhone maker secured in 2024 as part of its own $1 billion investment. At the time, Apple paid $400 million for 400,000 Class B shares.
(Credit: FCC/Amazon)Although Apple is losing its stake, Amazon says it remains committed to supplying satellite services for iPhones and improving them through Globalstar, which began powering Cupertino's Emergency SOS feature with the iPhone 14.
“Amazon’s investment in constellation expansion and technical improvements will strengthen the 1.6/2.4 GHz MSS [mobile satellite services] that millions of iPhone users depend upon today for safety in areas without cellular coverage,” Amazon wrote in the filing.
(Credit: Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)In April, Amazon also mentioned an agreement with Apple to keep powering satellite services for the iPhone and Apple Watch. But it also told the FCC it plans on using Globalstar to help it serve “smartphones and other mobile devices across multiple carriers and vendors,” not just Apple.
Amazon’s filing goes on to highlight the competitive benefits the Globastar acquisition will bring to the emerging satellite-to-phone market, where SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile and AST SpaceMobile are competing. The services aim to eliminate cellular dead zones in remote and rural areas by using satellites that act as orbiting cell towers, capable of beaming data to unmodified phones on the ground.
In Apple’s case, the satellite connectivity has saved the lives of people facing emergencies. But the technology risks becoming outdated as Starlink Mobile adds more robust features, including data for select mobile apps, video calling, and, eventually, 150Mbps speeds through a next-generation network.
In the FCC filing, Amazon alluded to the limitations of Globalstar’s network with plans to drastically upgrade the satellite connectivity, including enabling voice calls. “Current MSS offerings frequently require a clear view of the sky because signal strength is insufficient to penetrate foliage, buildings, or adverse weather. Amazon’s satellites will provide better coverage, higher capacity, quicker connection times, and improved signal quality in many locations and conditions where today’s services do not reach,” it said. “These improvements, together with the enhanced voice capabilities of Amazon’s planned system, will materially expand what satellite connectivity can do for consumers and businesses worldwide.”
Prior to the acquisition, Globalstar was developing a new 48-satellite constellation, C-3, to upgrade its satellite services for the iPhone. Amazon is sticking with the C-3 plans, but also wants to take things further by rapidly deploying “a next-generation D2D [direct-to-device] satellite constellation” to operate alongside Globalstar’s existing satellites and the C-3.
“The new Amazon Leo D2D satellites will augment Globalstar’s existing and planned services by enabling features that Globalstar cannot offer today, including robust voice, text, and data connectivity to mobile phones and IoT devices that comply with 3GPP NTN standards with no additional specialized equipment,” the company added.
The filing also notes that Amazon has developed a “specialty phased-array antenna technology designed specifically for global D2D services operating in the L-, S-, and 1.6/2.4 GHz MSS bands.”
It's unclear when the services will arrive or how much they will cost. But Amazon is buying Globalstar while also preparing to launch the long-delayed Amazon Leo, a challenger to the home broadband-focused Starlink that requires the use of the dish hardware.