Amazon in talks to buy satellite operator Globalstar for ~$8.8B in Starlink rivalry push
What's the deal? Amazon is in talks to acquire GlobalstarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Louisiana-based satellite telecom company with a market capitalisation of approximately $8.8 billion, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the story.
Globalstar operates a network of low-earth-orbit communication satellites offering voice, data, and asset-tracking services across enterprise, government, and consumer markets. It had nearly 800,000 mobile satellite subscribers at end of 2025.
The company is also the infrastructure behind Apple's emergency satellite services feature on iPhones — Apple invested $1.5 billion in Globalstar in 2024, taking a 20% stake, and that ownership is a complicating factor in any deal.
Why now? Amazon is racing to build a satellite internet business to rival SpaceX's Starlink, which operates more than 9,500 satellites and serves more than 10 million active users globally. Amazon's own satellite programme, Leo — formerly Project Kuiper — has just 180 satellites in orbit so far, with plans to eventually operate more than 7,700.
Acquiring Globalstar would give Amazon an existing satellite network, spectrum, and infrastructure to accelerate that build-out, even if Globalstar's older, higher-orbit system is not a direct substitute for Starlink's high-speed broadband.
What could go wrong? Apple's 20% stake makes this a three-party negotiation, adding complexity and a potential veto. Globalstar's network is less suited to broadband delivery than the low-earth-orbit constellations that define modern satellite internet — meaning Amazon would be buying a starting point, not a solution. Regulatory scrutiny of large Amazon acquisitions is also a persistent risk.
Bloomberg previously reported that Globalstar had explored a sale to SpaceX, among others — suggesting the company has been on the market for some time without a deal closing, which may indicate complications beyond the Apple stake.
The signal: The satellite internet race is becoming a two-player game between MuskDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and BezosDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and both are moving aggressively. Starlink's dominance — it generates between 50% and 80% of SpaceX's revenue — has made satellite connectivity a genuinely strategic asset. Amazon's interest in Globalstar is less about its existing capabilities than about accelerating Amazon's own competitive timeline.
Low-earth-orbit satellite infrastructure is becoming the next battleground for big tech, with spectrum, ground stations, and subscriber bases now carrying the kind of strategic value once reserved for data centres.
Sources:
The Financial Times
Bloomberg
CNBC
Reuters
Irish Times
The Next Web
Fast Company
Capacity
The Times
Image credit:
Globalstar
J.V.
