The news: Amazon is eyeing an acquisition of satellite connectivity company Globalstar, per The Financial Times.

The deal could help Amazon Leo, the retailer and tech giant’s satellite internet service, compete with SpaceX’s Starlink and reduce dead zones across the country.

• Amazon has launched more than 200 satellites to date, but it asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January for a 24-month extension on a deadline to launch 1,600 satellites by July.
• The acquisition could be complicated by Apple’s 20% stake in Globalstar—part of a $1.5 billion investment from 2024—and could require negotiations between Amazon and Apple.

Globalstar’s stock jumped about 8% on reports of the potential Amazon deal.

Zooming out: Globalstar’s resources and infrastructure could help Amazon Leo catch up on deployment milestones. Amazon plans to build a system of about 7,700 satellites, per CNBC, but has faced delays.

Last month, after Amazon criticized SpaceX’s plan to launch up to 1 million satellites, FCC chair Brendan Carr said Amazon should focus on its own deployment plans, which are expected to leave the company roughly 1,000 satellites short of its upcoming launch milestone.

Why it matters: Satellite connectivity could expand brands’ reach in places where coverage is limited and reshape where and how advertisers engage remote users.

• As coverage gaps disappear, brands can extend always-on messaging into travel, rural, and emergency settings, where consumer intent is often immediate.
• With fewer distractions and more contextual relevance, these communication paths may command higher cost per mille (CPMs).

Implications for the industry: As providers like Amazon, T-Mobile, and Apple build out skyward networks, marketers could gain access to previously unreachable users in creative ways.

For Amazon, a scaled satellite network could bolster its broader ads ecosystem, giving the company new signals, surfaces, and environments to monetize alongside its existing retail and streaming ad businesses.

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