FCC Clears Amazon Leo's $11.5 Billion Globalstar Deal, Which Buys 25 MHz of Spectrum and a Customer That Is 63% Apple
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FCC Clears Amazon Leo's $11.5 Billion Globalstar Deal, Which Buys 25 MHz of Spectrum and a Customer That Is 63% Apple
The Space Bureau's October 27 approval transfers about two dozen satellites and mobile-satellite spectrum, but closing waits until 2027 and a 5,105-satellite application is still open.
The Federal Communications Commission's Space Bureau approved Amazon Leo's acquisition of Globalstar on October 27, transferring the satellite operator's licences, authorisations, spectrum and related assets in a deal valued at about $11.5 billion. Approval is not closing: the companies still expect to finish in 2027, and a separate application for up to 5,105 direct-to-device satellites remains pending, according to iTechGuides' account of the order.
The thing Amazon is paying for is smaller than the headline suggests. About 25 MHz of internationally harmonised mobile-satellite-service spectrum and about two dozen existing satellites come across; the order is docketed as GN Docket 26-134.
What the order covers
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Deal value | about $11.5 billion |
| Price per Globalstar share | $90, roughly a 31% premium |
| Spectrum | about 25 MHz, mobile-satellite service |
| Existing Globalstar satellites | about two dozen |
| Pending separate application | up to 5,105 satellites |
| Expected close | 2027 |
The per-share price and premium come from Advanced Television's report of Amazon's April announcement, which also put the deal at $11.57 billion. The FCC order, as described by iTechGuides, covers space-station and earth-station authorisations, domestic and international Section 214 authorisations and experimental licences.
The customer concentration is the number that matters
The number that matters here is not the $11.5 billion but 63%. Per Reuters, as relayed by iTechGuides, Apple made up about 63% of Globalstar's revenue in the prior year, and Apple invested about $1.5 billion in the company in 2024 for roughly 20% of the equity. TIKR, citing the FCC, reports that Amazon plans to acquire Apple's stake.
Globalstar powers Emergency SOS and Find My on iPhone and Apple Watch, and Amazon has said it signed an agreement with Apple to keep those services running. Advanced Television adds that Amazon Leo is to power future satellite services for iPhone and Apple Watch under a parallel agreement.
So the asset is a spectrum licence, two dozen satellites and one dominant customer whose contract is the reason the licence has revenue attached to it. Buying Apple's equity stake removes a shareholder; it does not remove the dependence.
How small the Globalstar fleet is next to Leo's
Per Reuters, Amazon has launched more than 300 Leo satellites since April 2025 and targets about 3,200 by 2029. Advanced Television's April report cites a pre-Globalstar plan of 3,236 satellites with service starting in 2028. The two describe different horizons and we could not reconcile them from the sources fetched; both are reported here as each source gives them.
- Pending direct-to-device application5105 satellites
- Leo constellation plan3236 satellites
- Leo launched since April 2025 (more than)300 satellites
- Globalstar satellites acquired (about)24 satellites
Source: iTechGuides (citing Reuters) and Advanced Television, accessed 2026-10-29
The chart mixes planned, launched and applied-for counts, which are different stages. Only the last two exist in orbit.
What still has to happen
Closing conditions include remaining US and international approvals, no legal restriction blocking the deal, and satellite milestones that include HIBLEO-4 replacement-satellite requirements, per iTechGuides, which also cites Globalstar's August 2026 filing saying approvals and conditions were outstanding. The structure is two-step, ending with Globalstar as a wholly owned Amazon subsidiary.
This is a different kind of capital bet from the ones elsewhere on the hardware desk; compare Anduril's BlueChip laptop and its supply-chain accounting or Crunchbase's robotics funding tallies, where the unit is a machine rather than a licence.
The next milestone is the FCC's decision on the 5,105-satellite application. Until it lands, Amazon owns spectrum with a customer attached and no approved fleet to use it with.
Sources
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