SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon said Tuesday that it was buying Globalstar, a global communications company, for $10.8 billion as it aims to build out a satellite network in space.
The deal, which was for a combination of stock and cash, will help Amazon create consumer services for people to connect their devices to satellite internet capabilities. The company said it planned to use its satellites to offer voice, data and messaging services beginning in 2028.
Amazon also announced a partnership with Apple for Amazon’s satellites to connect to iPhones and Apple Watches for emergency texting features. Amazon declined to disclose the terms of its partnership with Apple. Globalstar had already been working with Apple.
Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services, said in a statement that the deal with Globalstar meant “customers can expect faster, more reliable service in more places — keeping them connected to the people and things that matter most.”
Amazon has been expanding its ambitions for space. Last April, the company launched its first 27 satellites into orbit as part of an effort known as Project Kuiper, which has been renamed Leo.
Leo was Amazon’s move to enter the market for beaming high-speed internet to the ground from orbit. That is an arena dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite-internet service. Starlink, which has thousands of satellites in orbit, already serves several million customers around the world.
This month, SpaceX filed to go public in what is shaping up to be one of the largest-ever initial public offerings. Musk has valued SpaceX — which has landed contracts with federal agencies such as NASA and the Department of Defense — at more than $1 trillion. Other companies are racing to catch up to what Musk has built for space.
Globalstar, founded in 1991, is a Louisiana-based global telecommunications company. It operates networks of low-Earth orbiting satellites to provide internet connectivity to customers.
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