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
(disclaimer: my Dad worked there for years)
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.
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dome_(missile_defense_s...
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.
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.))
Garmin inReach users will be disappointed to hear that: “inReach devices use the Iridium satellite constellation, which forms a mesh with 100% globe coverage.”
So any latency Sat incurs, Amazon will likely have the closest path to the destination and be the most preferred wisp
https://www.visitbentonville.com/blog/stories/post/the-new-w...
"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!"
I'm wondering if the show writers used it as a reference.
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?"
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.
The entire museum was demolished a few years ago to make way for a Top Golf.
Why wasn't this the end?
case in point: the three largest airlines in the US have declared bankruptcy at some point: United, Delta, American
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
Here's the link:
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/amazon-signs-...
Edit: proper link to it https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...
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?
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.
Globalstar have 24 satellites in orbit (at least according to Google).
How does this acquisition by Amazon meaningfully expand Leo to compete against Starlink?
I'm not sure they are competitors. They could be, but these networks are serving different purposes.
Not a joke
2nd gen is 256 Kbps
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...
The new direct-to-device network Amazon is getting their hands on is now approved and live on the air.
Just fyi, LEO is up to 2000km / 1200mi. But this is still double Starlink altitude. And multiple orders of magnitude less satellites.
Now, how could a satellite service be useless? And what many people don't understand, is that if somebody that is using it (as thousands of people are) hears that, it might be hurtful. It comes down to calling somebody "dumb". And the statement doesn't invite anybody to come up with arguments. No, most people would walk away from a discussion. Avoid this person with his big ideas. This is how society is individualized and how we fail to understand each other.
I also believe that it comes from a good place, like actual "advice". I've been giving my little snarky comment to about 20 people. Most of them were open to it, changed their style a little and the workplace became some much more pleasant.
Just something to think about as you navigate the challenges of social interactions. The best to you.
Starlink Standard (fixed) Starlink Mini (portable) Starlink Pocket (ultra-portable)
Ku band gives Starlink a run for its money on planes. And if I’m backpacking, Starlink is worthless. These are real contexts where Starlink isn’t competitive, a category set to grow in the coming years with new launches and regulations. (Anything you do on Starlink should be presumed to be open to warant-free inquiry by the American and Putin regimes at this point.)
Doesn't Starlink have a direct to phone very low data thing? Like you can do SMS over it?
Separate use cases. Ku is great on boats and planes. L band (Iridium) has better reception than Starlink; its low frequencies don’t see water or trees and can sometimes attenuate a bit around cliffs. (I personally don’t carry anything except for a 406 MHz beacon.)
Note that Starlink is Ku and Ka. And for most cases, I agree, Starlink is in a class of its own. But it’s not a one shot, even before we consider the tremendous damage Elon did to its brand over the last week.