Amazon just made its most expensive bet yet on satellite internet. The company announced an all-cash-and-stock deal to acquire Globalstar, the satellite communications firm, for roughly $11.6 billion, a transaction that would hand Amazon outright control of the spectrum and ground infrastructure it needs to turn Project Kuiper into a genuine rival to SpaceX’s Starlink.
The two companies signed a definitive merger agreement on April 13, 2026, and disclosed the transaction in an SEC filing the following day. Globalstar’s board unanimously approved the deal. For Amazon, it marks the culmination of a yearslong courtship that began with a spectrum lease, escalated to what the company described in SEC filings as a roughly 20% equity stake acquired in early 2025, and now ends with full ownership.
From minority investor to full owner
Amazon’s path to this acquisition followed a deliberate playbook. The company first partnered with Globalstar to lease spectrum capacity for Kuiper, securing preferred access to licensed radio frequencies in the S-band and L-band, both critical for delivering broadband from low-Earth orbit without interference from terrestrial wireless networks. The subsequent equity investment gave Amazon a board seat and financial influence. The full buyout removes any remaining ambiguity about who controls those assets.
Under the merger agreement, two Amazon subsidiaries will absorb Globalstar through a two-step merger, folding the satellite firm into Amazon’s corporate structure. Globalstar shareholders can elect to receive cash or Amazon stock, though both options are subject to caps. If too many investors choose the same form of payment, a proration process will adjust the mix, meaning individual shareholders may not receive exactly what they selected.
Why Globalstar matters for Kuiper
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s plan to deploy a constellation of more than 3,200 low-Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet worldwide. The Federal Communications Commission has required Amazon to have half its constellation, roughly 1,618 satellites, operational by July 2026. Amazon launched its first two prototype satellites in October 2023 and began deploying production satellites in early 2026, but the company remains well behind the pace needed to meet that FCC deadline, with only a small fraction of the required satellites in orbit as of spring 2026.
Globalstar brings two things Amazon cannot easily replicate on its own: licensed spectrum across multiple frequency bands and a global network of ground stations that relay signals between satellites and terrestrial networks. Owning that infrastructure outright, rather than leasing it, gives Amazon far more flexibility to optimize how Kuiper’s satellites communicate with devices on the ground. It also eliminates the risk that a third party could renegotiate terms or redirect capacity to a competitor.
Amazon has already committed more than $10 billion to Project Kuiper. The Globalstar acquisition roughly doubles the program’s total financial footprint, underscoring how seriously the company views satellite broadband as a long-term business.
The Apple question
The deal raises immediate questions about Globalstar’s existing partnership with Apple. Since 2022, Globalstar has provided the satellite backbone for the iPhone’s Emergency SOS feature, which allows users to contact emergency services from locations without cellular coverage. Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion to help fund Globalstar’s satellite and ground infrastructure upgrades as part of that arrangement.
Neither Amazon’s nor Globalstar’s SEC filings address whether the Apple partnership will continue, be renegotiated, or eventually wind down under new ownership. For Apple, the stakes are significant: Emergency SOS has become a marquee safety feature across the iPhone lineup, and finding an alternative satellite partner on short notice would be difficult. For Amazon, inheriting a revenue-generating contract with a major competitor adds a layer of strategic complexity to the integration.
Bigger checks for infrastructure
Alongside the merger agreement, Amazon signed two side deals that expand its financial commitment to Globalstar’s network. An amendment to a prepayment arrangement raises the maximum infrastructure funding cap by $468 million, bringing the total to $1.58 billion. That money bankrolls satellite and ground station upgrades, with Globalstar working down the balance by delivering services to Amazon over time.
A separate amendment updates technical milestones and delivery timelines tied to that infrastructure work. Both side agreements were executed on April 13, the same day as the merger contract, a signal that Amazon treated expanded funding and tighter performance benchmarks as part of a single negotiated package rather than afterthoughts.
A crowded orbit
Amazon is entering a satellite broadband market that SpaceX has dominated for years. Starlink already serves well over 4 million subscribers across dozens of countries and continues to launch satellites at a pace no competitor has matched, leveraging SpaceX’s own reusable rockets to keep costs down. Amazon, by contrast, is relying on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, neither of which has yet achieved the launch cadence Starlink demands.
Other players are approaching the market differently. AST SpaceMobile is building satellites designed to connect directly to unmodified smartphones, bypassing the need for dedicated ground terminals. Traditional telecom operators are exploring hybrid satellite-cellular architectures through partnerships with companies like Lynk Global. Each approach carries different technical and financial risks, but the common thread is a shared conviction that connectivity from orbit represents a massive, underserved market.
By acquiring Globalstar, Amazon gains a vertically integrated position: it will own the satellites (through Kuiper), the spectrum (through Globalstar’s licenses), and the ground infrastructure to tie them together. That mirrors SpaceX’s model, where a single company controls everything from rocket manufacturing to end-user service delivery. Amazon could also weave satellite connectivity into its broader ecosystem, linking Kuiper to AWS cloud services, Prime delivery logistics, and rural broadband initiatives that align with federal subsidy programs.
What stands between the deal and the finish line
The acquisition faces several hurdles before it becomes final. Globalstar shareholders must vote to approve the merger. Federal regulators will need to sign off, including antitrust review and likely FCC scrutiny over the transfer of spectrum licenses. Given the scale of the transaction and the strategic sensitivity of satellite communications, the regulatory process could stretch for months and may come with conditions.
The SEC filings do not specify a target closing date. They also leave open how much of the $11.6 billion headline price will ultimately be paid in cash versus Amazon stock, since that depends on shareholder elections and the proration mechanics. Proxy materials that would spell out those details for investors have not yet been filed as of late April 2026.
Other open questions are harder to answer from public filings alone. Will Amazon maintain Globalstar as a separate subsidiary or absorb it entirely? What happens to Globalstar’s existing workforce? How will current customers who rely on Globalstar for asset tracking, maritime communications, and other niche services be affected? Until proxy filings, regulatory submissions, and updated company guidance arrive, the SEC disclosures remain the most authoritative public record of a deal that could reshape the satellite broadband industry for years to come.
