FCC Clears Amazon Leo's $11.5 Billion Acquisition of Globalstar
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Amazon Leo's $11.5 billion acquisition of Globalstar, the mobile-satellite operator, according to Engadget. The approval was reported on October 27, 2026.
The deal is meant to widen Amazon Leo's space-based footprint and enable direct-to-device (D2D) service, in which an ordinary phone connects to satellites rather than only to terrestrial cell towers. The FCC said the companies' complementary assets would strengthen Amazon Leo's entry into direct-to-device service and produce a stronger operator offering fixed and mobile services to residential, business and government customers. The agency also said the deal is likely to benefit the public by enhancing data coverage in underserved areas.
The FCC's Space Bureau approved Amazon Leo's application to acquire about 25 megahertz (MHz) of Globalstar's internationally harmonized mobile-satellite service (MSS) spectrum. Spectrum, the licensed radio frequencies a service may use, works much like a reserved lane on a highway. Globalstar and Amazon had filed applications seeking the commission's approval and consent to transfer control of Globalstar to Amazon. Holders representing the combined voting power of Globalstar's outstanding common stock also approved the transaction.
Apple is the most visible consumer link. Globalstar supplies the satellite connectivity behind Apple's emergency service on compatible iPhones and Apple Watches, and Apple held a 20 percent stake in Globalstar before the Amazon takeover. As part of the deal, Amazon Leo will power satellite services for supported iPhone and Apple Watch models. The network carrying emergency traffic would change hands, while the handset experience is designed to stay the same for users.
The scale gap is considerable. Amazon Leo has 400 satellites in orbit and aims to have more than 3,000 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites deployed in the near future. In July 2026, Amazon Leo filed with the FCC to deploy up to 5,105 new satellites designed to use Globalstar's spectrum to provide voice, data and messaging. That filing is a proposal, and the satellites it describes have not been deployed. Globalstar's first-generation constellation and its four U.S. gateways, the ground stations that link satellites to terrestrial networks, are licensed by the FCC.
The program has also been renamed. On November 13, 2025, Amazon replaced the Project Kuiper code name with Amazon Leo as the permanent brand for its satellite broadband system.
The broader context here is spectrum. Direct-to-device service depends on handsets receiving signals from orbit, so the operator that controls licensed mobile-satellite spectrum shapes which features a phone can offer, how it hands traffic between satellite and cellular networks, and which carrier relationships it must negotiate. Owning 25 MHz of harmonized spectrum does not by itself settle those questions, and the filing for up to 5,105 additional satellites shows how much of the architecture is still being planned.
In my view, the FCC's three stated benefits, expanded direct-to-device competition, stronger emergency communications and better data coverage in underserved areas, are the right tests for the deal. Each can be checked in practice: service availability in rural and remote regions, the latency and reliability of emergency messaging, and whether other operators can offer comparable direct-to-device service. If the integration works as described, the practical gain is connectivity in places terrestrial networks do not reach, and that is a meaningful change for the people who live and work there.
