Overview
- Amazon submitted an application this week to the U.S. FCC seeking permission to deploy an Amazon Leo direct‑to‑device (D2D) constellation of up to 5,105 low Earth orbit satellites that would connect directly to standard phones and IoT devices.
- The proposal depends on spectrum and assets from Amazon’s pending acquisition of Globalstar, a deal the company expects to close in 2027, and includes a stated plan to collaborate with Apple and partner mobile carriers rather than sell service directly to consumers.
- Amazon’s filing details a technical design that places satellites in five orbital shells roughly 510–580 km high, uses L‑ and S‑band links to devices and Ka/V links to gateways, performs on‑satellite signal processing, employs optical inter‑satellite links, and plans six‑ to eight‑year lifetimes with controlled deorbiting.
- The request seeks limited use of some competitors’ frequencies outside the U.S., a step that will require international spectrum coordination, and the timetable depends on FCC review, spectrum clearances and available rocket launch capacity.
- The move escalates competition with SpaceX’s Starlink and other D2D projects while building on Amazon Leo’s existing broadband effort, which has roughly 375–390 satellites in orbit and a separate FCC waiver that eased an earlier Kuiper deployment deadline.