The agreement aims to enable Leo to offer direct services to devices.
Amazon Leo has received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its $11.5 billion acquisition of the mobile-satellite company Globalstar. This agreement is intended to broaden Leo’s satellite coverage and facilitate direct services to devices, according to previous statements from Amazon.
The FCC highlighted that the merger of these two companies’ assets is expected to strengthen Amazon Leo’s presence in the direct-to-device market, making it a more formidable satellite operator capable of providing both fixed and mobile services to residential, business, and governmental clients. The regulator anticipates that this deal will ultimately benefit the public by improving data services in areas that lack adequate coverage.
Globalstar may be less familiar to some, but its services are utilized by Apple for providing emergency satellite connectivity for select iPhones and Watches. Notably, Apple previously owned a 20 percent share in Globalstar before this acquisition. As part of the agreement, Leo will support satellite functionalities for compatible iPhone and Apple Watch models.
As a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink, Leo has been making significant strides recently. The company announced it currently operates 400 satellites in orbit and has launched high-quality satellite internet services in Uzbekistan. Additionally, Leo is collaborating with Delta to introduce satellite internet access on flights. Amazon has also planned six new launches through Arianespace and looks forward to deploying over 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites in the near future, though this number still falls short of SpaceX’s goal of 11,000 satellites.
