FCC approves Amazon's transfer of Globalstar's satellite licenses

what happened

The FCC's Space Bureau, Office of Engineering and Technology and Office of International Affairs granted Amazon and Globalstar's applications to transfer Globalstar's satellite, earth-station and section 214 authorizations to Amazon, per the Commission's October 27 order (DA 26-1160, GN Docket No. 26-134), finding no competitive harms since Globalstar's IoT- and messaging-focused mobile-satellite service doesn't compete with Amazon Leo's fixed broadband service. The grant is conditioned on Amazon's continued compliance with 1999 and 2004 national-security letters of agreement Globalstar held with the Department of War, Department of Justice and FBI, and the FCC denied a petition from former Globalstar customer Yippy, Inc. asking it to condition the grant over an unrelated contract dispute. Amazon agreed in April to acquire Globalstar for $11.57 billion in cash and stock, per Reuters, cited in the order.

why it matters

The approval clears the last major regulatory hurdle for Amazon to close its largest satellite acquisition and gain the MSS spectrum its pending direct-to-device license needs, giving Amazon Leo a near-term path into the device-to-satellite market where SpaceX/T-Mobile and AST SpaceMobile/AT&T already compete. Apple, which the order says accounted for about 63% of Globalstar's 2025 revenue through wholesale satellite capacity and holds a 20% equity stake in Globalstar, would become both an Amazon customer and a minority Amazon shareholder once the deal closes.

for who

D2D and MSS operators, satellite investors

signal-to-noise

quick facts

Companies

Amazon, Globalstar

Category

regulatory

Impact

major

SNR

5 / 5

Event date

2026-10-27

Published

2026-10-28 05:30 UTC