Why Amazon needs to talk to Apple as it looks to buy $9 billion satellite group Globalstar to take on Elon Musk’s Starlink

Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire the satellite telecommunications group Globalstar, a deal that would strengthen the ecommerce giant’s effort to build its own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite business. Citing according to people familiar with the matter, a report by The Financial Times said that the two sides were still negotiating over some of the complexities related to Apple. However, it has been noted that no deal had been finalised and discussions could yet shift or collapse.One complicating factor has been Apple’s ownership of a 20% stake in Globalstar, necessitating negotiations between Amazon and Apple, the people were quoted as saying. Apple invested $1.5 billion in Globalstar in 2024, taking a 20% stake in the company. As part of the agreement, Globalstar agreed to reserve 85% of its network capacity for the iPhone maker for satellite-based texting – launched with the iPhone 14 in 2022. This technology can be used to contact responders, or people when outside cellular tower coverage.Globalstar said: “As a company policy, Globalstar does not comment on industry speculation or rumours.” Bloomberg reported in October that Globalstar was exploring a sale and had held early talks with SpaceX.Acquiring the satellite group would accelerate Amazon’s push to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starlink orbital internet service. Notably, Amazon has been pushing forward with its own effort, dubbed Leo, launching the first batch of satellites for its internet constellation last year.The company has more than 180 satellites in orbit but it is dwarfed by the more than 10,000 active satellites operated by SpaceX, however, given that Globalstar has an active service for satellite internet for phones, Amazon may develop it to quickly tap the spectrum for its own 5G/satellite phone (D2D) capabilities.