Apple Chooses Amazon Satellites for iPhone, Years after Rejecting Starlink Offer

ARS TECHNICA - Amazon today announced two satellite deals that it hopes will make its Amazon Leo network a more formidable competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon signed a merger agreement to buy satellite operator Globalstar and said it entered into an agreement with Apple to provide satellite service for iPhones and Apple Watches.

Amazon is spending an estimated $11.6 billion for Globalstar, which already partnered with Apple for satellite messaging on the iPhone. Amazon said that buying Globalstar will help it enter the Direct-to-Device (D2D) market in which satellites provide connectivity to mobile phones.

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Note:  Two of the four launch providers scheduled to deploy Amazon Leo satellites are tied to Kent Valley - Blue Origin is headquartered in Kent and operates the New Glenn rocket, and the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket employs two Blue Origin BE-4 engines.

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