Advanced Television

Suitors eye Globalstar

March 27, 2026

Satellite operator Globalstar has been up for sale informally for some time. Now it seemingly has two potential suitors. Apple uses Globalstar to connect its own emergency phone services on some iPhone models.

Industry analyst Dr Tim Farrar, in a blog on recent events, said that the sale process started in October 2025 with Amazon in the frame.

“Rumors have been swirling all week here at the satellite conference in Washington DC and many people have guessed that the winning bidder would be Amazon. That seemed to be the most likely outcome back in January. However, I think that [major investor Jay Monroe] took Amazon’s offer to SpaceX and they probably decided to beat it, in order to further cement Starlink’s dominance of the satellite industry. Amazon already faces severe competitive pressure from Starlink in the broadband market, and a Starlink purchase of Globalstar would block another opportunity for Amazon to broaden its appeal and match Starlink’s D2D offer,” said Farrar.

He added: “Buying yet more spectrum might not be seen as the wisest course of action for SpaceX, if some international regulators decide that because Starlink controls Globalstar’s MSS spectrum there is no need to grant Starlink additional rights in the 2GHz MSS spectrum acquired from EchoStar. But [FCC chairman] Brendan Carr’s threats that he will block European satellite operators from the US market if the EU withdraws Starlink’s spectrum rights should carry the day in the near term.”

As for the Apple agreement with Globalstar there are questions as to whether their carriage arrangement – worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually – will continue under a new Globalstar owner.

Categories: Blogs, Business, Inside Satellite, M&A

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