FCC Approves Amazon Leo's $11.5 Billion Acquisition of Globalstar (engadget.com) 17
The FCC has approved (PDF) Amazon Leo's $11.5 billion acquisition of satellite operator Globalstar, giving the Starlink rival additional infrastructure and spectrum to expand into direct-to-device satellite connectivity. Engadget reports: You may not know Globalstar but have possibly used its services, as the company provides Apple's emergency satellite connectivity for compatible iPhones and Watches. Interestingly, Apple also held a 20 percent stake in Globalstar prior to its takeover. As part of the deal, Leo will power satellite services for supported iPhone and Apple Watch models.
Leo, a rival to SpaceX's Starlink, has been active of late. The company recently announced that it has 400 satellites in orbit and revealed last month that it had launched high-quality satellite internet service in Uzbekistan. It's teaming up with Delta to eventually bring satellite internet to flights, as well. Amazon recently added six new Arianespace launches and aims to have more than 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites up in the near future, still well short of SpaceX's 11,000 satellites.
Leo, a rival to SpaceX's Starlink, has been active of late. The company recently announced that it has 400 satellites in orbit and revealed last month that it had launched high-quality satellite internet service in Uzbekistan. It's teaming up with Delta to eventually bring satellite internet to flights, as well. Amazon recently added six new Arianespace launches and aims to have more than 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites up in the near future, still well short of SpaceX's 11,000 satellites.
Alternative to SpaceX (Score:1)
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Perhaps SpaceX / X / Elon should build an alternative to Amazon.
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It’s called AliExpress.
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Is AliExpress Temu Amazon?
Re: Alternative to SpaceX (Score:2)
It's where almost everything on Amazon comes from. (Albeit often in quantity from their other site Alibaba.)
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"Plutocrat 'A' grew too big for their britches, so lets give some of the business to Plutocrat 'B'."
What could possibly go wrong?
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The establishment
There's nothing "establishment" or "control" here beyond a bunch of rich fuckers trying to each make more money. You really think that Amazon is the establishment?
They should adopt Tesla bumper stickers that say "I launched into space before Musk went crazy." The Amazon service started not only before Elon went full sig-heil, but before Trump's second term, before the Ukraine war, hell before fucking covid.
Why is every thing a damn conspiracy to you people?
Re: Alternative to SpaceX (Score:2)
Conspiracies are the norm and not the exception. The wealthy meet in private clubs and offices and discuss how we will live our lives for their benefit. Are you new?
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Conspiracies are the norm and not the exception. The wealthy meet in private clubs and offices and discuss how we will live our lives for their benefit. Are you new?
Not *EVERYTHING* is a conspiracy. Especially when the proposed conspiracy is stupid and doesn't reflect the reality of the timeline. Just because some wealthy person somewhere came up with one idea, doesn't mean everything was come up by some secret wealthy private club goers.
Let me be clear, at this point I am calling you silly on my own accord, I do not have Trump and Musk standing next to me pointing out how silly your comment is in the context.
When *everything* is a conspiracy theory to you, it's time t
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Conspiracies are the norm and not the exception. The wealthy meet in private clubs and offices and discuss how we will live our lives for their benefit. Are you new?
Not *EVERYTHING* is a conspiracy... When *everything* is a conspiracy theory to you, it's time to consult with a mental health professional.
I dunno. Look at Project 2025 [www.project2025.observer] and see how far it's progressed. Then consider how it a) helps the people that Drinkypoo calls conspirators and b) was probably at least funded, if not shaped, by the parasite class. In that light, if I say that "everything" is a conspiracy, and more than 50% of the shit going down IS in fact a conspiracy, then maybe I'm less in need of that mental health professional than you are.
Dismissing what Drinkypoo said as a mere conspiracy theory may be less accurate than saying "yup,
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When Elon is spending half a billion dollars to try to re-elect incumbent politicians, how is he not "establishment" ?
Please make that make sense.
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Bezos started Blue Origin a few years before SpaceX. In fact Elon asked him for advice. Blue Origin moved at a glacial pace though. But all the concepts such as reusable rockets were already in Blue Origins plans. Reference: https://patents.google.com/pat... [google.com]
As for Starlink we know that idea was either an obvious thing or taken from WorldVu when they went to SpaceX for launch services. https://spacenews.com/41755wor... [spacenews.com]
Globalstar is so different (Score:3)
Globalstar is so different.
L-band uplink and S-band downlink.
Doesn't seem a good fit for Amazon Leo (nee Kuiper).
I'd like to learn more.
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The valuation is what mystifies me. Maybe, before Starlink, a constellation of 25 communication satellites was worth a few billion. Maybe $10 billion with IP, lucrative contracts and whatever spectrum they hold. After Starlink?
No. Just no.
Globalstar equity holders have played this one well.
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I wouldn't be hung up on the number of satellites. It's a better comparison to compare the capabilities of the different constellations. Starlink is much more capable, but for the amount of satellites they have, Globalstar does all right. But the BIG item is the spectrum Globalstar has control of - that's most if not all of the value.
Gives Ukraine an alternative? (Score:3)
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alternative to StarLink
There is no alternative now, and there won't be an alternative for years.
Globalstar is far too low bandwidth for Ukraine's needs. Amazon doesn't have the ambition or nerve to risk building anything that approaches Starlink in the kind of time frame that is relevant to the Ukraine conflict, and they don't have the vertically integrated launch platform with the airline-like capacity and reliability of SpaceX to make such ambitions affordable, and they don't have the ambition or nerve to build that either.