Amazon files for U.S. approval to orbit 5,105 satellites in direct-to-device push

Federal regulators are reviewing a request from Amazon to place 5,105 satellites into orbit for a direct-to-device network. That term describes a service that routes data signals from space directly to phones and other consumer devices, bypassing the cell towers that conventional wireless carriers depend on to reach customers. Part of the planned network would rely on assets from Globalstar, a satellite company Amazon announced plans to acquire in April for roughly $11.6 billion.

The scale of the filing

The number Amazon put before regulators is 5,105 satellites. That figure represents the full constellation the company wants permission to operate for direct-to-device coverage. The application is a request for federal authorization, not an approval. Review comes before any satellite in this program leaves the ground.

What Globalstar contributes

Direct-to-device service requires licensed radio spectrum, the specific frequencies that regulators assign to carry signals between satellites and phones on the ground. Without that spectrum, a satellite cannot communicate with a consumer device. Globalstar holds such licenses and operates existing satellite infrastructure. Amazon announced its plan to acquire Globalstar in April. The proposed network would partly rely on those Globalstar assets to deliver service to consumers.

That qualifier, "partly," is doing real work in the company's framing. Amazon described a network that uses Globalstar's assets without specifying which functions depend on them and which it would handle through other means. The filing does not resolve that distinction.

What is signed versus what is projected

Amazon announced plans to buy Globalstar in April at a price of roughly $11.6 billion. Those are plans, not a completed transaction. The satellite network described in the federal filing is built partly around assets Amazon does not yet own.

If the acquisition does not close, that portion of the network's architecture stays outside Amazon's control. The company has not said publicly how it would adjust the constellation design in that scenario. The filing covers 5,105 satellites and a service concept. A build schedule and a commercial launch date have not been disclosed.