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.
Fun Iridium trivia: it was originally designed to need 77 satellites, hence the name. By the time they deployed they’d figured out they’d only need 66, but for some reason didn’t change their name to Dysprosium.
This kind of trivia can be discovered in the very interesting and entertaining book "Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story" by John Bloom. Highly recommended read (if you're generally into tech/business/startup chronicles)!
And while you're at it, read "Chip Wars" by Christopher R. Miller as well. Extremely good read to understand tomorrows' most relevant geopolitical conflict.
Surprisingly they're profitable, but still saddled with a lot of debt.
I know to people over at Iridium that have stayed through the past 15 years or so. They have a niche they're serving that seems stable for now.
I half expect Amazon to keep making acquisitions to try and accelerate their satellite efforts. I don't think it's a net negative thing, there's so much more we can do.
I am surprised that Starlink didn't eat their lunch. I think the only thing keeping them alive is inertia and the fact that Starlink still has regional lockouts and doesn't work in the most remote parts of the world.
Garden variety Starlink requires a big, expensive, high-powered phased-array antenna, and there are lots of low-power/IoT-type applications served by Iridium for which Starlink is not suitable. Once the Starlink direct-to-cell technology matures, presumably that'll serve those usecases, but it still seems pretty nascent.
Under SOLAS, GMDSS equipment is mandatory on ships. Iridium (and Inmarsat) meet that requirement, starlink does not - hence Iridium is still very much around...
Iridium still has a monopoly on high latitudes, too, AFAIK. Their USP is being the only network that works literally anywhere on the surface of the earth.
There are countless niches like this in telematics, one of the only industries I've encountered where a seemingly established company will be doing a "Series K" round, typically as a means to buy or build out the infrastructure they need for whatever customer.
Great book, one thing it missed is how these satellite constellations are also funded by the government for their dual use potential in Strategic Defense Initiative development (now officially called Golden Dome)
> 2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.
I wondered who it was that Apple was using for that but never looked into it. Was it for any particular reason on Apple's part other than it probably saved them a bundle compared to going with literally anyone else? Or is there something else I'm missing? Just curious. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for some of these corporate events nobody thinks too much about.
I'm not a radio guy, but I've read that the in-phone modems and antennas for Globalstar were much closer to existing designs. The spectrum is apparently right next to WiFi and Bluetooth bands.
Globalstar's technology over everyone else. They've just been crude bent pipes up in the sky. They still are. C-3 is just a bunch of new radio repeaters.
Globalstar's original network was just CDMA over the bent pipe satellite link, their second-gen Duplex network (sold as Sat-Fi 2) was an attempt to go WCDMA, then Apple dangled a lot of cash at them to build out and drop the entire Sat-Fi 2 product, the entire WCDMA core, and go roll Apple's new toys out for them. I'm assuming C3 is going to be heavily LTE-based if it isn't already at this point.
(I had a Sat-Fi 2 device and it was an interesting and short-lived experience. I was also there for the weird interim 201x satellite failure era - I remember having to pull up the Optimal Satellite Availability Tool to go see exactly how many long ~2-10 minute windows I could make phone calls in with a GSP-1600.)
((Double-fun-fact: The GSP-1600 is still actively used on Globalstar today, and it's one of the only tri-mode phones that existed of the era. It was satellite via GSTAR, then had CDMA for local calling and AMPS for the sticks. I had my GSP-1600 activated on a Verizon MVNO for local calls, which was a blast to use.))
The Iridium constellation(s) are very much in active use. They transitioned their business model from pure communications to RF remote sensing. They are among the leaders in some markets for RF remote sensing platforms. AFAIK the businesses in these markets do not use the Iridium name, which makes sense given it is a historical telecom brand.
It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.
Garmin inReach users will be disappointed to hear that:
“inReach devices use the Iridium satellite constellation, which forms a mesh with 100% globe coverage.”
The biggest benefit Amazon has vs starlink is their hosting is considered the standard and because of that they already have a connection to every other network.
So any latency Sat incurs, Amazon will likely have the closest path to the destination and be the most preferred wisp
Mr. Sam would be screaming at what future Mr. Holo-Sam is spewing out of his mouth if we pulled him out of the grave.
It feels a little off-putting to have the hologram alongside his (actual) F150 pickup (and the messaging behind his pickup). The hologram doesn't fit with "what [I'm] supposed to haul my dogs around in - a Rolls Royce?"
Before Falcon came in and drove down launch costs significantly putting lots of satellites in low orbit you need to replace constantly was a bad way to design a satellite network. It still has some issues like the continuous ongoing cost where the traditional providers' satellites would last for many years before needing to be replaced.
Bankruptcy doesn't mean that assets will be destroyed. Valuable assets (including satellites, brand etc.) will be sold off to new owners, and the proceeds go to the lenders.
Two types of bankruptcy in the U.S.: liquidation and reorganization. The latter lets a company reshuffle assets and debt and schedule new payment plans to continue to exist as a going concern. It often wipes out shareholders.
The news is that the FCC approved the acquisition. It was already announced back in April that Amazon would be purchasing Globalstar. I don’t think anyone expected it to be held up by regulators.
Band n53 adds premium midrange spectrum to the premium performance of XCOM RAN. As midband spectrum, it provides a balance of speed and coverage for 5G with download speeds up to 250 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps, wider coverage than millimeter-wave frequencies and greater efficiency than lower bands for better throughput. If you run the wireless networks that run the world, the combination of band n53 and XCOM RAN is a marriage made in heaven. Learn more in the Terrestrial Wireless section at www.globalstar.com.
Why is Amazon interested in Globalstar? The first thing that comes to my mind is like... Amazon's lowkey business model is "pick unsexy, logistics-heavy areas and just Do The Work better than others until a niche is carved out."
And from that POV I think the acquisition makes sense, but I'm not sure how this benefits the existing constellation of Amazon IP. Is it more like an attempt to have a relevant AWS-like play but for satcom because they see demand in that area growing a ton? Okay sure but is Globalstar really getting you that unlock?
It's largely because Amazon started Leo / Project Kuiper in the late 2010s when Jeff Bezos was still CEO of Amazon. Musk and Bezos both run rival spaceflight companies, and during this era, Musk and Bezos had multiple public spats stemming from:
1) Blue Origin & SpaceX competing for the same NASA / DoD resources.
2) Blue Origin using government processes to block / stall contracts that would go to SpaceX.
When Musk fired a number of Seattle-based Starlink execs in mid-2018, Bezos took them in to build a competing product. After Starship launched its inaugural flight and it was clear Blue was 10-15 years behind SpaceX, the rivalry died down. By then, Bezos had already stepped down as CEO of Amazon. Now Amazon Leo / Project Kuiper exists as an inherited project.
Much like their customers, I suspect Amazon themselves don't actually ever do anything other than buy random shit they won't ever use...at least on the space side. I know a bunch of people who work out at the cape and it sounds horrid.
Are those the iridium satellites? They are doing something completely different from starlink. For one thing, they are in much higher orbit, increasing both latency and coverage. They also have much less available bandwidth.
I'm not sure they are competitors. They could be, but these networks are serving different purposes.
Globalstar flies highest, with orbits at ~1400 km. Starlink is at ~340-550 km. Per satellite, a higher altitude sees a larger portion and provides greater angular visibility of the Earth's surface at any one time. Globalstar is suited for low-power devices, emergency sat messaging, and IoT, not broadband speed. One reason they made a good fit with the iPhone. Also the valuable spectrum.
Tangent: SRE was very color-heavy and that led to some long ANSI sequences. From the recently decompiled source [1] you can see that I tried to pick shorter ANSI sequences when I could. In particular, going from color 0x0* to 0x1* we could save 1 byte, and going back to the default white on black we could save between 1 and 4 bytes. But if you're bandwidth limited there's also an option to turn off color entirely.
> the C-3 System will comprise 48 low Earth orbit satellites operating at an altitude of 1414 kilometers along with 6 in-orbit spares, supported by approximately 90 six-meter ground station antennas installed around the world
Just fyi, LEO is up to 2000km / 1200mi. But this is still double Starlink altitude. And multiple orders of magnitude less satellites.
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
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)
Fun Iridium trivia: it was originally designed to need 77 satellites, hence the name. By the time they deployed they’d figured out they’d only need 66, but for some reason didn’t change their name to Dysprosium.
This kind of trivia can be discovered in the very interesting and entertaining book "Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story" by John Bloom. Highly recommended read (if you're generally into tech/business/startup chronicles)!
And while you're at it, read "Chip Wars" by Christopher R. Miller as well. Extremely good read to understand tomorrows' most relevant geopolitical conflict.
the person you are responding to seems to have massively massively downplayed iridium then….
Surprisingly they're profitable, but still saddled with a lot of debt. I know to people over at Iridium that have stayed through the past 15 years or so. They have a niche they're serving that seems stable for now.
I half expect Amazon to keep making acquisitions to try and accelerate their satellite efforts. I don't think it's a net negative thing, there's so much more we can do.
I am surprised that Starlink didn't eat their lunch. I think the only thing keeping them alive is inertia and the fact that Starlink still has regional lockouts and doesn't work in the most remote parts of the world.
Garden variety Starlink requires a big, expensive, high-powered phased-array antenna, and there are lots of low-power/IoT-type applications served by Iridium for which Starlink is not suitable. Once the Starlink direct-to-cell technology matures, presumably that'll serve those usecases, but it still seems pretty nascent.
Under SOLAS, GMDSS equipment is mandatory on ships. Iridium (and Inmarsat) meet that requirement, starlink does not - hence Iridium is still very much around...
Iridium still has a monopoly on high latitudes, too, AFAIK. Their USP is being the only network that works literally anywhere on the surface of the earth.
Starlink works at high attitudes. It was a big deal when they got it at McMurdo 4 years ago. Same in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) Alaska.
There are countless niches like this in telematics, one of the only industries I've encountered where a seemingly established company will be doing a "Series K" round, typically as a means to buy or build out the infrastructure they need for whatever customer.
And they have: https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/rocket-lab-buys-satelli...
I can highly recommend the book "Eccentric Orbits" by John Bloom if you want to learn about the Iridium constellation story. Easily one of the best books I've read in the last few years. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26893707-eccentric-orbit...
Great book, one thing it missed is how these satellite constellations are also funded by the government for their dual use potential in Strategic Defense Initiative development (now officially called Golden Dome)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dome_(missile_defense_s...
> 2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.
I wondered who it was that Apple was using for that but never looked into it. Was it for any particular reason on Apple's part other than it probably saved them a bundle compared to going with literally anyone else? Or is there something else I'm missing? Just curious. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for some of these corporate events nobody thinks too much about.
I'm not a radio guy, but I've read that the in-phone modems and antennas for Globalstar were much closer to existing designs. The spectrum is apparently right next to WiFi and Bluetooth bands.
Globalstar's technology over everyone else. They've just been crude bent pipes up in the sky. They still are. C-3 is just a bunch of new radio repeaters.
Globalstar's original network was just CDMA over the bent pipe satellite link, their second-gen Duplex network (sold as Sat-Fi 2) was an attempt to go WCDMA, then Apple dangled a lot of cash at them to build out and drop the entire Sat-Fi 2 product, the entire WCDMA core, and go roll Apple's new toys out for them. I'm assuming C3 is going to be heavily LTE-based if it isn't already at this point.
(I had a Sat-Fi 2 device and it was an interesting and short-lived experience. I was also there for the weird interim 201x satellite failure era - I remember having to pull up the Optimal Satellite Availability Tool to go see exactly how many long ~2-10 minute windows I could make phone calls in with a GSP-1600.)
((Double-fun-fact: The GSP-1600 is still actively used on Globalstar today, and it's one of the only tri-mode phones that existed of the era. It was satellite via GSTAR, then had CDMA for local calling and AMPS for the sticks. I had my GSP-1600 activated on a Verizon MVNO for local calls, which was a blast to use.))
The Iridium constellation(s) are very much in active use. They transitioned their business model from pure communications to RF remote sensing. They are among the leaders in some markets for RF remote sensing platforms. AFAIK the businesses in these markets do not use the Iridium name, which makes sense given it is a historical telecom brand.
The NEXT satellites also do space based ADS-B and AIS tracking. They packed an impressive variety of side businesses into the current satellites.
Iridium didn't make it? I use it all the time.
It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.
Garmin inReach users will be disappointed to hear that: “inReach devices use the Iridium satellite constellation, which forms a mesh with 100% globe coverage.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin_inReach
The biggest benefit Amazon has vs starlink is their hosting is considered the standard and because of that they already have a connection to every other network.
So any latency Sat incurs, Amazon will likely have the closest path to the destination and be the most preferred wisp
walmart has a museum too
https://www.visitbentonville.com/blog/stories/post/the-new-w...
This is giving me real Severance Perpetuity Wing vibes.
That whole town (Bentonville) is essentially run by Walmart.
You're not lying.
"The wait is finally over—the Walmart Museum is back and better than ever!"
"This video series is intended to be updated as time goes on, so go ahead and come back on your next visit to experience more messages!"
"The floor also features the Hologram Theater, where Sam Walton himself shares his story"
I'm wondering if the show writers used it as a reference.
Mr. Sam would be screaming at what future Mr. Holo-Sam is spewing out of his mouth if we pulled him out of the grave.
It feels a little off-putting to have the hologram alongside his (actual) F150 pickup (and the messaging behind his pickup). The hologram doesn't fit with "what [I'm] supposed to haul my dogs around in - a Rolls Royce?"
Very high value acquisition
How did they not become spacex/starlink
> How did they not become spacex/starlink
You need to go big first with the rockets.
If you have the rockets, everything else is easy later on. Collect millions from others to launch the satellites in the meantime.
And if you don't have rockets, you use SpaceX, like GlobalStar does.
Leo/Kuiper was launching satellites on SpaceX as well.
Only after a shareholder lawsuit
Before Falcon came in and drove down launch costs significantly putting lots of satellites in low orbit you need to replace constantly was a bad way to design a satellite network. It still has some issues like the continuous ongoing cost where the traditional providers' satellites would last for many years before needing to be replaced.
https://www.iridiummuseum.com/
I remember the Motorola Museum on the Schaumburg campus has an Iridium satellite hanging from the ceiling.
The entire museum was demolished a few years ago to make way for a Top Golf.
> 2002: Bankruptcy.
Why wasn't this the end?
Bankruptcy doesn't mean that assets will be destroyed. Valuable assets (including satellites, brand etc.) will be sold off to new owners, and the proceeds go to the lenders.
Two types of bankruptcy in the U.S.: liquidation and reorganization. The latter lets a company reshuffle assets and debt and schedule new payment plans to continue to exist as a going concern. It often wipes out shareholders.
in the US corporate bankruptcy allows the company to restructure its debts.
case in point: the three largest airlines in the US have declared bankruptcy at some point: United, Delta, American
I consulted for iridium for 8 years from like 2009-2018. They very much still exist?
What? Doesn’t iridium exist?
It does. That is until its acquisition by Rocket Lab completes in 2027.
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
This link works, on the original I am getting a 404
The original duplicates the path
Here's the link:
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/amazon-signs-...
The news is that the FCC approved the acquisition. It was already announced back in April that Amazon would be purchasing Globalstar. I don’t think anyone expected it to be held up by regulators.
Edit: proper link to it https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...
Previous discussion about the deal on HN (119 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183
From https://www.globalstar.com/en-us/resource-center/articles/ba...
Band n53 adds premium midrange spectrum to the premium performance of XCOM RAN. As midband spectrum, it provides a balance of speed and coverage for 5G with download speeds up to 250 Mbps and upload speeds up to 100 Mbps, wider coverage than millimeter-wave frequencies and greater efficiency than lower bands for better throughput. If you run the wireless networks that run the world, the combination of band n53 and XCOM RAN is a marriage made in heaven. Learn more in the Terrestrial Wireless section at www.globalstar.com.
You're not supposed to publicly acknowledge the existence of XCOM ;)
The deal was announced in April. It just got FCC approval.
Kind of an interesting acquisition, no?
Why is Amazon interested in Globalstar? The first thing that comes to my mind is like... Amazon's lowkey business model is "pick unsexy, logistics-heavy areas and just Do The Work better than others until a niche is carved out."
And from that POV I think the acquisition makes sense, but I'm not sure how this benefits the existing constellation of Amazon IP. Is it more like an attempt to have a relevant AWS-like play but for satcom because they see demand in that area growing a ton? Okay sure but is Globalstar really getting you that unlock?
It's largely because Amazon started Leo / Project Kuiper in the late 2010s when Jeff Bezos was still CEO of Amazon. Musk and Bezos both run rival spaceflight companies, and during this era, Musk and Bezos had multiple public spats stemming from:
1) Blue Origin & SpaceX competing for the same NASA / DoD resources.
2) Blue Origin using government processes to block / stall contracts that would go to SpaceX.
When Musk fired a number of Seattle-based Starlink execs in mid-2018, Bezos took them in to build a competing product. After Starship launched its inaugural flight and it was clear Blue was 10-15 years behind SpaceX, the rivalry died down. By then, Bezos had already stepped down as CEO of Amazon. Now Amazon Leo / Project Kuiper exists as an inherited project.
Much like their customers, I suspect Amazon themselves don't actually ever do anything other than buy random shit they won't ever use...at least on the space side. I know a bunch of people who work out at the cape and it sounds horrid.
global drone network. governments will pay far and wide for access.
they're already knee deep with LEO/kuiper(?)
Starlink have over 11,000 satellites in orbit.
Globalstar have 24 satellites in orbit (at least according to Google).
How does this acquisition by Amazon meaningfully expand Leo to compete against Starlink?
Are those the iridium satellites? They are doing something completely different from starlink. For one thing, they are in much higher orbit, increasing both latency and coverage. They also have much less available bandwidth.
I'm not sure they are competitors. They could be, but these networks are serving different purposes.
Maybe spectrum.
Spectrum and IP, probably.
Pre-existing infra, designs and know-how?
I bet this is about about acquiring spectrum rights or something
How does Globalstar's offering compare to Starlink?
Globalstar flies highest, with orbits at ~1400 km. Starlink is at ~340-550 km. Per satellite, a higher altitude sees a larger portion and provides greater angular visibility of the Earth's surface at any one time. Globalstar is suited for low-power devices, emergency sat messaging, and IoT, not broadband speed. One reason they made a good fit with the iPhone. Also the valuable spectrum.
9.6Kbps
Not a joke
That's their legacy product.
2nd gen is 256 Kbps
2nd gen was 72kbps, never got to 256. Apple stepped in and got them to write the whole 2nd gen Duplex network off before it got that far.
Au Contraire, that bandwidth is definitely a joke.
Does it also make modem sounds??
They are serving different needs.
The spectrum and various other rights are probably worth more than the current kit.
Well that’s more than most people can get out of Leo today so it’s a start!
And starlink?
9600bps ought to be enough for anyone.
Thanks, Bill.
That's enough bandwidth to play Trade Wars and SRE so it's good enough for me.
:-)
Tangent: SRE was very color-heavy and that led to some long ANSI sequences. From the recently decompiled source [1] you can see that I tried to pick shorter ANSI sequences when I could. In particular, going from color 0x0* to 0x1* we could save 1 byte, and going back to the default white on black we could save between 1 and 4 bytes. But if you're bandwidth limited there's also an option to turn off color entirely.
[1] https://github.com/joeshaw/sre-reconstructed/blob/main/src/s...
Why no Legend of the Red Dragon? :(
What about LORD?
i would think that globalstar is specialised in IoT and Starlink more as an extention of the cellular coverage.
404 for me
I get 9600.
Previously in April:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183
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.
> the C-3 System will comprise 48 low Earth orbit satellites operating at an altitude of 1414 kilometers along with 6 in-orbit spares, supported by approximately 90 six-meter ground station antennas installed around the world
Just fyi, LEO is up to 2000km / 1200mi. But this is still double Starlink altitude. And multiple orders of magnitude less satellites.
if you can't beat 'em, join 'em
Just use Thuraya or Inmarsat.
Every satellite internet provider other than Starlink is complete garbage. Slow, unreliable, useless.