FCC Clears Amazon Leo's $11.5 Billion Globalstar Buy, Jump-Starting D2D Push

The FCC approved Amazon Leo's $11.5 billion acquisition of Globalstar on October 27, clearing Amazon's entry into the direct-to-device (D2D) satellite market and handing it an operational constellation of about two dozen low-Earth orbit satellites with more than 780,000 active end-user devices across more than 120 countries.

The deal gives Amazon Leo control of Globalstar's existing satellite operations, ground infrastructure and assets, including its mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum licenses. Critically, it also transfers Globalstar's D2D partnership with Apple, the anchor commercial relationship behind the current constellation.

What does the approval change for Amazon? It converts a paper ambition into an operating business overnight. Rather than building a D2D system from scratch, Amazon inherits paying subscribers, licensed spectrum and a working service delivered in partnership with the world's largest smartphone vendor.

What did the FCC decide?

The Commission's order rejected an attempt by Yippy, a former Globalstar partner, to block the transaction. Yippy claimed a contract dispute warranted a halt; Globalstar countered that it had not provided communications services to Yippy for years and accused the company of using the merger review as leverage in an unrelated dispute. The FCC sided with Globalstar and denied Yippy's petition.

Public interest groups including Public Knowledge, New America's Open Technology Institute and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation supported the deal, arguing the Globalstar assets would make Amazon Leo a more effective competitor in the D2D market.

The FCC reached the same conclusion on competition grounds. "The transaction would facilitate Amazon's entry into D2D services and create a vigorous satellite-based operator capable of offering fixed and mobile services to both residential and business customers," the Commission said.

What comes next on spectrum and satellites?

Globalstar was already developing a next-generation "C-3" LEO platform before the Amazon deal, comprising 48 operational satellites plus six on-orbit spares. The FCC's Space Bureau recently granted Globalstar's request for US market access for C-3 and cleared the operator to use the 1610MHz-1618.725MHz band for Earth-to-space MSS links and 2483.5MHz-2500MHz for space-to-Earth service links.

"Following the close of its transaction with Globalstar, Amazon Leo may use the C-3 System grant to build and launch this newly authorized system," the FCC said in its order.

The C-3 system is not the end of Amazon Leo's ambitions. The company plans a next-generation D2D platform in 2028 supporting a mix of what it calls advanced voice, text and data services. The FCC is currently reviewing Amazon Leo's separate application to build a D2D system of more than 5,105 satellites.

The timeline is long. Commercial reality today rests on the legacy constellation and the Apple agreement; the 2028 platform and the 5,105-satellite proposal remain projections, and the larger system still awaits regulatory sign-off.

Where does this leave the D2D market?

The approval intensifies competition in a sector led by SpaceX's Starlink, which remains the undisputed market leader. AST SpaceMobile and Elveo, formed from the combination of Lynk and Omnispace, are also chasing the opportunity. On the terrestrial side, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are pushing ahead with a D2D joint venture widely viewed as a hedge against SpaceX's dominance.

That makes Amazon Leo the fourth major independent satellite contender, armed with spectrum, an existing subscriber base and Apple's distribution. Whether it converts those assets into a genuine challenge to Starlink will depend on execution of the C-3 build-out and the pending review of its 5,105-satellite application, decisions expected to shape the D2D market through the decade.