Amazon's $11.6B Globalstar Buy: Satellite Wars Heat Up

0:00It's April 15th, Sydney News. Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Amazon just dropped $11.6 billion to buy Global Star, straight up challenging Elon Musk's Starlink in the satellite game. This deal cranks up the heat in a market expected to double to $200 billion soon. Through Global Star, Amazon snags key radio spectrum licenses to push direct-to-sell service right to your phone by 2028, no towers. Needed, earlier this week, they announced the offer up to $90 per share in cash or stock, a 117% premium that's sent. Global Star shares jumping 9.6%. Its Amazon's second biggest buy after Whole Foods set to close in 2027, while Starlink already rocks over 10,000 satellites, serving 10 million users. Folks are buzzing. Amazon's Panos Panay says it'll mean faster connections everywhere. Stocks reacted wild.

1:00Amazon of 3.8%, rival AST Space Mobile down nearly 11%. Experts like Caleb Henry from Quilty Space say Amazon's dead serious about beating Starlink service. Meanwhile, this ties into Apple's emergency messaging, shifting to Amazon's Leo Network, a big win after lagging on partners. Global Star's spectrum is gold for unmodified phones, and they powered iPhone satellite features already. FCC chair, Brendan Carr sounds open to the deal, calling it fresh competition. With Bezos gunning for Musk's lead, satellite connectivity is about to get way more fierce. Your phone might never drop signal again.