Yet another Hacker News

Amazon to buy satellite firm Globalstar in $11.57B deal

66 points noptd 1 hour ago 19 comments

sebmellen 1 hour ago | parent

404 for me

asdfsa32 29 minutes ago | parent

I get 9600.

interloxia 1 hour ago | parent

The link didn't work for me.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...

US agency approves Amazon Leo’s $11.5 billion acquisition of Globalstar By David Shepardson October 27, 2026

uxhacker 40 minutes ago | parent

This link works, on the original I am getting a 404

esseph 33 minutes ago | parent

The original duplicates the path

Here's the link:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/amazon-signs-...

kotaKat 1 hour ago | parent

On the same note: https://investors.globalstar.com/news-releases/news-release-...

The new direct-to-device network Amazon is getting their hands on is now approved and live on the air.

paxy 51 minutes ago | parent

The deal was announced in April. It just got FCC approval.

gkanai 37 minutes ago | parent

How does Globalstar's offering compare to Starlink?

nonethewiser 35 minutes ago | parent

9.6Kbps

Not a joke

cmiles8 34 minutes ago | parent

Well that’s more than most people can get out of Leo today so it’s a start!

jandrese 31 minutes ago | parent

Au Contraire, that bandwidth is definitely a joke.

AdamN 29 minutes ago | parent

Does it also make modem sounds??

gizajob 22 minutes ago | parent

9600bps ought to be enough for anyone.

cj 10 minutes ago | parent

That's their legacy product.

2nd gen is 256 Kbps

Eden09 36 minutes ago | parent

Previous discussion about the deal on HN (119 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183

hbarka 32 minutes ago | parent

Globalstar is a study in corporate survival. It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.

Consider the journey:

2002: Bankruptcy.

2007: Satellite amplifier failures threatened its voice service.

2010–2013: A replacement constellation helped restore capacity.

2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.

2024: Apple committed approximately $1.5 billion in investment and infrastructure funding.

Now: This acquisition by Amazon would bring Globalstar's satellite assets and spectrum into Amazon's competition with Starlink, while preserving satellite services for Apple devices.

Iridium has a museum: iridium museum.com

diek 16 minutes ago | parent

Iridium exists today, refreshed their constellation with Iridium NEXT just a few years ago, and was just bought by Rocket Lab for $8 billion.

(disclaimer: my Dad worked there for years)

martinky24 12 minutes ago | parent

What? Doesn’t iridium exist?

aboardRat4 26 minutes ago | parent

Just use Thuraya or Inmarsat.