{"id":51907,"date":"2026-04-14T10:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-announces-11-57-billion-globalstar-purchase-to-challenge-spacex\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:37:55","slug":"amazon-announces-11-57-billion-globalstar-purchase-to-challenge-spacex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-announces-11-57-billion-globalstar-purchase-to-challenge-spacex\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Announces $11.57 Billion Globalstar Purchase to Challenge SpaceX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Amazon announced Tuesday its plan to acquire satellite operator Globalstar in a deal worth $11.57 billion, marking the company’s latest move to compete with SpaceX’s dominant Starlink service.<\/p>

The space-based internet sector is experiencing rapid growth due to reduced launch costs, improved technology, and increasing demand for connectivity in isolated regions, making orbital networks more economically feasible.<\/p>

Originally developed primarily to serve rural households without traditional internet access, satellite internet services have now diversified into multiple sectors including aviation, maritime operations, military applications, emergency communications, and direct-to-cellular services.<\/p>

Here’s an overview of the leading satellite internet providers, their locations, planned network sizes, and current operational status:<\/p>

Starlink, operated by SpaceX from Hawthorne, California, leads the market with authorization for 15,000 second-generation satellites and long-term plans for 42,000 units. The company currently operates more than 9,500 satellites in orbit.<\/p>

Amazon’s Project Kuiper, based in Redmond, Washington, plans an initial constellation of 3,236 satellites and is in early deployment with over 200 satellites currently operational.<\/p>

Eutelsat OneWeb, headquartered in Paris, France and London, UK, operates a first-generation network of more than 600 satellites with plans for 440 additional units in future expansions.<\/p>

Globalstar, located in Covington, Louisiana, currently maintains 32 active low-earth orbit satellites with 24 focused on Internet of Things and emergency messaging services. Future expansion could involve thousands of additional satellites.<\/p>

Telesat Lightspeed, based in Ottawa, Canada, is preparing to launch 150-200 satellites beginning in 2026-2027 and is currently in pre-operational manufacturing phases.<\/p>

AST SpaceMobile, operating from Midland, Texas, targets deployment of 45-60 satellites by 2026 and currently has six satellites in early operational status.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazon revealed Tuesday it will acquire satellite firm Globalstar for $11.57 billion as competition heats up with SpaceX’s Starlink network. The space-based internet industry is expanding rapidly beyond rural connectivity into aviation, shipping, and emergency services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":51906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[834],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776177475418.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-dvd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51834,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-purchases-globalstar-for-11-57b-to-compete-with-spacex-starlink\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":0},"title":"Amazon Purchases Globalstar for $11.57B to Compete with SpaceX Starlink","author":"Admin","date":"April 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazon announced Tuesday it will purchase satellite company Globalstar for $11.57 billion. The acquisition strengthens Amazon's space technology efforts as it works to compete against SpaceX's dominant Starlink satellite network.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776169375866.jpg?fit=450%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45989,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-reportedly-negotiating-9b-deal-to-purchase-satellite-company-globalstar\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":1},"title":"Amazon Reportedly Negotiating $9B Deal to Purchase Satellite Company Globalstar","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly in discussions to purchase satellite telecommunications company Globalstar in a deal worth nearly $9 billion. The negotiations have been complicated by Apple's 20% ownership stake in Globalstar, requiring talks between the tech rivals.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775085714095.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":51638,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-close-to-acquiring-satellite-company-globalstar-report-says\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":2},"title":"Amazon Close to Acquiring Satellite Company Globalstar, Report Says","author":"Admin","date":"April 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly in final negotiations to purchase satellite telecommunications company Globalstar. The acquisition would strengthen Amazon's efforts to develop its own satellite network capabilities.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776136895669.jpg?fit=450%2C284&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30111,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/amazon-satellite-network-partners-with-vodafone-for-remote-cell-tower-coverage\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":3},"title":"Amazon Satellite Network Partners with Vodafone for Remote Cell Tower Coverage","author":"Admin","date":"March 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Vodafone announced a partnership with Amazon's satellite constellation to provide high-speed internet connections to cellular towers in hard-to-reach locations across Europe and Africa. The collaboration will deliver speeds up to 1 Gbps download and 400 Mbps upload, eliminating the need for costly fiber optic cable installations.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1772439482814.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61560,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/european-chipmaker-projects-3b-space-revenue-as-satellite-demand-soars\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":4},"title":"European Chipmaker Projects $3B+ Space Revenue as Satellite Demand Soars","author":"Admin","date":"May 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"STMicroelectronics expects to generate over $3 billion in space-related semiconductor sales between 2026-2028, driven by explosive growth in low-Earth orbit satellite networks. The Franco-Italian company's space chip revenue has already jumped from $175 million in 2021 to about $600 million in 2025.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777911766810.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56167,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/french-satellite-company-secures-32m-to-challenge-spacexs-starlink-dominance\/","url_meta":{"origin":51907,"position":5},"title":"French Satellite Company Secures $32M to Challenge SpaceX’s Starlink Dominance","author":"Admin","date":"April 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Univity, a French satellite internet company, has secured $32 million in funding to build a massive constellation of satellites. The startup aims to become Europe's largest satellite operator by launching up to 3,400 satellites to compete with SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's planned network.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776925321539.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776925321539.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776925321539.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776925321539.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776925321539.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}