YHK - yet another hacker news clone

Amazon to buy satellite firm Globalstar in $11.57B deal

111 points noptd 2 hours ago 44 comments

sebmellen 2 hours ago | parent

404 for me

asdfsa32 1 hour ago | parent

I get 9600.

interloxia 2 hours ago | parent

The link didn't work for me.

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

uxhacker 1 hour ago | parent

This link works, on the original I am getting a 404

esseph 1 hour ago | parent

The original duplicates the path

Here's the link:

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/amazon-signs-...

kotaKat 2 hours ago | parent

On the same note: https://investors.globalstar.com/news-releases/news-release-...

The new direct-to-device network Amazon is getting their hands on is now approved and live on the air.

paxy 2 hours ago | parent

The deal was announced in April. It just got FCC approval.

gkanai 1 hour ago | parent

How does Globalstar's offering compare to Starlink?

nonethewiser 1 hour ago | parent

9.6Kbps

Not a joke

cmiles8 1 hour ago | parent

Well that’s more than most people can get out of Leo today so it’s a start!

jandrese 1 hour ago | parent

Au Contraire, that bandwidth is definitely a joke.

AdamN 1 hour ago | parent

Does it also make modem sounds??

gizajob 1 hour ago | parent

9600bps ought to be enough for anyone.

cj 1 hour ago | parent

That's their legacy product.

2nd gen is 256 Kbps

fred_is_fred 1 hour ago | parent

That's enough bandwidth to play Trade Wars and SRE so it's good enough for me.

lossyalgo 1 hour ago | parent

Why no Legend of the Red Dragon? :(

quietsegfault 1 hour ago | parent

What about LORD?

hylaride 1 hour ago | parent

The spectrum and various other rights are probably worth more than the current kit.

toolcocoon 4 minutes ago | parent

i would think that globalstar is specialised in IoT and Starlink more as an extention of the cellular coverage.

Eden09 1 hour ago | parent

Previous discussion about the deal on HN (119 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775183

hbarka 1 hour ago | parent

Globalstar is a study in corporate survival. It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.

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

diek 1 hour ago | parent

Iridium exists today, refreshed their constellation with Iridium NEXT just a few years ago, and was just bought by Rocket Lab for $8 billion.

(disclaimer: my Dad worked there for years)

asa123 1 hour ago | parent

the person you are responding to seems to have massively massively downplayed iridium then….

ganoushoreilly 30 minutes ago | parent

Surprisingly they're profitable, but still saddled with a lot of debt. I know to people over at Iridium that have stayed through the past 15 years or so. They have a niche they're serving that seems stable for now.

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.

martinky24 1 hour ago | parent

What? Doesn’t iridium exist?

huhtenberg 1 hour ago | parent

It does. That is until its acquisition by Rocket Lab completes in 2027.

cubefox 1 hour ago | parent

> 2002: Bankruptcy.

Why wasn't this the end?

piker 1 hour ago | parent

Two types of bankruptcy in the U.S.: liquidation and reorganization. The latter lets a company reshuffle assets and debt and schedule new payment plans to continue to exist as a going concern. It often wipes out shareholders.

handwoven 1 hour ago | parent

Bankruptcy doesn't mean that assets will be destroyed. Valuable assets (including satellites, brand etc.) will be sold off to new owners, and the proceeds go to the lenders.

insane_dreamer 27 minutes ago | parent

in the US corporate bankruptcy allows the company to restructure its debts.

case in point: the three largest airlines in the US have declared bankruptcy at some point: United, Delta, American

jareklupinski 1 hour ago | parent

walmart has a museum too

https://www.visitbentonville.com/blog/stories/post/the-new-w...

PyWoody 1 hour ago | parent

This is giving me real Severance Perpetuity Wing vibes.

pnt12 59 minutes ago | parent

You're not lying.

"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!"

giancarlostoro 58 minutes ago | parent

> 2022: Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS gave Globalstar a major new purpose.

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.

mikestew 28 minutes ago | parent

It lives on while its 90’s cohort Iridium didn’t make it.

Garmin inReach users will be disappointed to hear that: “inReach devices use the Iridium satellite constellation, which forms a mesh with 100% globe coverage.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin_inReach

aboardRat4 1 hour ago | parent

Just use Thuraya or Inmarsat.

joecool1029 1 hour ago | parent

The news is that the FCC approved the acquisition. It was already announced back in April that Amazon would be purchasing Globalstar. I don’t think anyone expected it to be held up by regulators.

Edit: proper link to it https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-agency-app...

0xy 1 hour ago | parent

Every satellite internet provider other than Starlink is complete garbage. Slow, unreliable, useless.

neals 1 hour ago | parent

Those are very absolute statements. And mayeb you're not aware, but if you notice people pulling away from you in conversation or it's difficult for you to maintain longterm, deep, relationships, it might be partly because of the way you express yourself. And it probably comes from a good place, you might just want to warn people to not go through whatever bad experience you had. But it is a very one way type of communication. It doesn't allow anybody except those that agree. But those that agree won't agree on some other big statement and you'll still resent each other.

Just something to think about as you navigate the challenges of social interactions. The best to you.

esikich 55 minutes ago | parent

Do you have experience in satellite Internet? I do, and he's not wrong. Your snarky comment is off topic and isn't adding anything here, imo.

sourcecodeplz 35 minutes ago | parent

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

prirun 33 minutes ago | parent

From https://www.globalstar.com/en-us/resource-center/articles/ba...

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.