Why Amazon Is Buying Globalstar—and What It Means for Your iPhone

Tuesday, Amazon announced the acquisition of Globalstar, a company that manufactures and operates low-Earth orbit satellites with the spectrum needed to communicate with devices on the ground. Amazon also says it is partnering with Apple, which has relied on Globalstar to provide off-grid emergency communications features on devices such as its iPhone and Apple Watch.

The $11.57 billion deal is Amazon’s latest effort to take on Elon Musk’s Starlink. This comes at a time when satellite internet is becoming essential to the spread of AI technology, but it also adds to concerns about what happens when our orbit fills with trash.

Here’s what you need to know about the Amazon deal.

Why did Amazon buy Globalstar?

Amazon began seriously aiming to fill the sky with satellites in 2023, when it launched its first satellite for Project Kuiper. Amazon is currently developing these efforts under the name Project Leo (LEO is an industry acronym for low-Earth orbit satellites). The goal is to eventually build a fleet of thousands of satellites capable of keeping people connected almost everywhere they go, bridging the gap between terrestrial cellular networks.

As Amazon stated in its press release: “The comprehensive Amazon Leo network will include thousands of advanced satellites in low Earth orbit and will have sufficient capacity to support hundreds of millions of customer endpoints worldwide. »

Globalstar is a small company in the satellite business, with around 24 satellites currently in orbit. The opportunity it offers Amazon is a more robust network of GPS asset tracking technology, ideal for tracking packages or delivery vehicles. Amazon will also control Globalstar’s licensed access to wireless spectrum that allows signals to be sent from a satellite “direct to the device.” This will likely give Amazon the ability to launch satellites that connect directly to devices sooner, rather than having to go through its own country-by-country approval process.

“It leverages this set of already pre-approved global spectrum rights, and that then powers a cell phone giant,” says Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomy professor at the University of San Francisco. “It’s going to connect to this huge iPhone market. So I think it’s a very attractive business package for Amazon and Apple.”

Apple isn’t the only company offering emergency SOS features via satellite. Both Google and Samsung offer this feature on their respective smartphones, and these features are only expected to grow in the coming years.

What does Direct to Device mean?

Most smartphone connections work by bouncing signals between cell towers. There are many cell towers around the world, but they are limited in rural areas, by the ocean, or in countries with less infrastructure to detect signals.

The purpose of satellite internet is to connect directly from the satellite to the device on the ground. To do this, you need line of sight to a satellite. Which means more are needed in orbit to see everything.

That’s why companies like Amazon and SpaceX’s Starlink want thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit. The more of them there are up there, the more soil (or water) they can cover.

Does this affect my iPhone or Apple Watch?

Apple devices that use Globalstar features, like the iPhone 14 or later and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, should not see any immediate changes. In its press release, Amazon said the company and Apple “signed an agreement to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features.”

It will be interesting to see how Apple, which has used privacy as a strong selling point, will use a location service run by Amazon, a company with a poor track record of protecting user data in its products and services.

Does this have anything to do with Starlink?

Starlink, a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is still the undisputed leader in the satellite internet space. It currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit. In January, Musk asked the FCC to launch a million more satellites to build data centers in space.

SpaceX also appears to be filing for an IPO very soon, with a reported (and ridiculous) goal of reaching a valuation of $1.75 trillion. Starlink is valued at $1 trillion. (Another estimated $250 billion worth goes to XAI’s horny, racist chatbot, Grok.)

When will these satellites get up there?

Amazon’s Project Leo already has 241 satellites in orbit. More are expected to launch later this month and through 2027. As for the Globalstar acquisition, Amazon says the deal is still not finalized, although it expects it to be completed in 2027, barring regulatory interference.

“We are in the very early stages of the process,” Paul Flaningan, Amazon’s sales communications and corporate development representative, wrote in an email response to WIRED’s request for comment. “Nothing changes today; the two companies will continue their independent activities in the meantime.”