Amazon Acquires Globalstar Worth Rp198 Trillion to Strengthen Satellite Network

JAKARTA - Amazon announced that it would buy Globalstar, a global satellite company 20 percent of which is owned by Apple. This deal is worth 11.57 billion US dollars (Rp. 198 trillion).

Through this acquisition, Amazon will gain full access to Globalstar's entire portfolio of satellite spectrum licenses, infrastructure, and mobile satellite services. This integration will support Amazon's Leo satellite business, which will deliver direct-to-device services starting later this year.

In line with this agreement, Amazon has also entered into an agreement with Apple to provide emergency connectivity services on the iPhone and Apple Watch. Globalstar is known as the main partner behind the Emergency SOS feature on millions of iPhones.

The announcement of these new acquisitions and partnerships comes after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed a list of customers of their satellite service, including big names such as NASA and AT&T. Amazon also just showed off its new satellite internet antenna a while ago.

Amazon plans to launch more than 3,200 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to build a self-sufficient global broadband network. However, this project still faces major challenges because the number of satellites currently orbiting is only around 200 units.

For comparison, Elon Musk's Starlink is leading the way with a constellation of more than 10,000 satellites. To catch up, Amazon is targeting hundreds of millions of customer endpoints in the future.

In 2028, Amazon Leo is expected to be able to deploy a satellite system to devices independently. Later, they will rely on more than 24 active satellites and 50 units that will be acquired by Globalstar.