Globalstar is a study in corporate survival. It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.
Consider the journey:
2002: Bankruptcy.
2007: Satellite amplifier failures threatened its voice service.
2010–2013: A replacement constellation helped restore capacity.
2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.
2024: Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion in investment and infrastructure funding.
Now: This acquisition by Amazon would bring Globalstar's satellite assets and spectrum into Amazon's competition with Starlink, while preserving satellite services for Apple devices.
Globalstar is a study in corporate survival. It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.
Consider the journey:
2002: Bankruptcy.
2007: Satellite amplifier failures threatened its voice service.
2010–2013: A replacement constellation helped restore capacity.
2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.
2024: Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion in investment and infrastructure funding.
Now: This acquisition by Amazon would bring Globalstar's satellite assets and spectrum into Amazon's competition with Starlink, while preserving satellite services for Apple devices.
Iridium has a museum: iridium museum.com
Previous discussion about the deal on HN (119 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183
The link didn't work for me.
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...
US agency approves Amazon Leo’s $11.5 billion acquisition of Globalstar By David Shepardson October 27, 2026
This link works, on the original I am getting a 404
[delayed]
Just use Thuraya or Inmarsat.
The deal was announced in April. It just got FCC approval.
How does Globalstar's offering compare to Starlink?
9.6Kbps
Not a joke
Au Contraire, that bandwidth is definitely a joke.
Well that’s more than most people can get out of Leo today so it’s a start!
Does it also make modem sounds??
On the same note: https://investors.globalstar.com/news-releases/news-release-...
The new direct-to-device network Amazon is getting their hands on is now approved and live on the air.
404 for me
I get 9600.