Amazon today announced two satellite deals that it hopes will make its Amazon Leo network a more formidable competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon signed a merger agreement to buy satellite operator Globalstar and said it entered into an agreement with Apple to provide satellite service for iPhones and Apple Watches.
Amazon is spending $11.6 billion for Globalstar, which already partnered with Apple for satellite messaging on the iPhone. Amazon said that buying Globalstar will help it enter the Direct-to-Device (D2D) market in which satellites provide connectivity to mobile phones.
“In addition to the agreement with Globalstar, Amazon and Apple signed an agreement to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features,” according to Amazon, which operates the Amazon Leo satellite network formerly known as Kuiper Systems. Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior VP of devices and services, said the Apple deal will make Amazon the “primary satellite service provider for iPhone and Apple Watch.”
The current Globalstar service works with the iPhone 14 and later models,and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, “allowing users to text emergency services, message friends and family, request roadside assistance, and share their location,” Amazon said. Amazon said it will continue to support those Apple device models and “collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using Amazon Leo’s expanded satellite network.”
Globalstar stockholders will be given a choice between $90 in cash per share or an equivalent amount of Amazon stock. That amounts to $11.57 billion. Globalstar reportedly held talks with SpaceX about selling to Musk’s company last year.
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Amazon’s press release includes a quote from Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide product marketing. “Apple and Amazon have a long and proven track record of working together through Amazon’s core infrastructure services, and we look forward to building on that collaboration with Amazon Leo,” he said. “This ensures our users will continue to have access to the vital satellite features they have come to rely on, including Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistance via satellite, so they can stay safe and connected while off the grid.”