Apple is no longer a major player: Amazon overtakes Globalstar

While most users are still looking for a signal in an elevator or an underground parking lot, the largest technocorporations are already sharing the future of global communication. Amazon officially announced the purchase of the satellite operator Globalstar – the company that provided satellite communication for the iPhone. The amount of the transaction amounted to $11.6 billion, and together with the operator, Jeff Bezos also receives the strategic asset of Apple – about 20% of the shares that previously belonged to Tim Cook’s company.

Amazon is taking away the infrastructure on which the iPhone’s satellite communication was built

Globalstar has long been Apple’s key partner in the development of satellite features for the iPhone. It was this company that ensured the operation of Emergency SOS – an emergency communication system via satellite, which allows you to send messages even where there is no mobile coverage.

Apple actively invested in the operator’s development. The company initially invested about $300 million, and later added about $1.1 billion. In exchange, Globalstar gave Apple access to most of its satellite capacity and a block of Class B shares that provided influence over the company’s management.

This asset is now under Amazon’s control. According to documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the acquisition will be completed through a subsidiary structure, Grapefruit Acquisition Sub II. Once the deal closes, Amazon will gain control not only of the satellite infrastructure, but also the same stake that gave Apple leverage inside Globalstar.

In fact, Bezos becomes the owner of the platform on which one of the most important security features of modern iPhones depends.

Apple will not be shut down – but the balance of power is changing

Amazon has already stated that the existing contracts with Apple will remain valid. iPhone users will continue to use satellite communication for emergency messages, and the Emergency SOS service will not disappear after the change of ownership.

However, it is clear that Amazon did not buy Globalstar to service a competitor’s devices. The main goal is the development of our own satellite ecosystem and entry into the market of direct satellite communication with smartphones.

It is about D2D (direct-to-device) technology, in which satellites interact with a smartphone directly, without special terminals and additional equipment. Today, such systems allow sending short messages in emergency situations, but in the future, companies want to turn satellite communication into a full complement to mobile networks.

This means that in a few years smartphones will be able to connect to satellites almost as naturally as they connect to LTE or Wi-Fi now.

Bezos enters direct war with SpaceX and Google

The purchase of Globalstar turns Amazon into a full-fledged player in the new satellite market. Prior to that, the company had already developed its own project, Project Kuiper, a competitor to Starlink from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Now Amazon has not only its own satellite program, but also a ready-made infrastructure with licenses, orbital frequencies and contracts in place.

Against this background, the market begins to change rapidly:

• SpaceX is testing satellite communication directly with smartphones together with mobile operators;
• Google integrates support for satellite functions into Android;
• Apple continues to expand the satellite capabilities of the iPhone;
• Amazon acquires Globalstar and its own base for D2D services.

In fact, the largest IT companies have started the fight for a new level of global communication — one where the mobile network no longer depends solely on ground towers.

Satellite communication becomes part of everyday life

A few years ago, satellite communication was associated exclusively with expeditions, military systems or expensive terminals for sailors. Nowadays, the situation is changing rapidly.

Technology is gradually turning into a mass service for ordinary smartphone users. The idea of ​​always being connected to the network regardless of location is becoming the new industry standard.

The purchase of Globalstar shows that Amazon sees satellite communication not as a niche function, but as the next stage in the development of the Internet and mobile communications. If the competition between SpaceX, Apple, Google and Amazon continues to accelerate, the phrase “no grid” may indeed be a thing of the past in the coming years.