If only Amazon hadn’t abandoned the Fire phone! The e-commerce and cloud conglomerate took a big step toward launching its planned satellite-delivered mobile phone service: It applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch 5,105 satellites to deliver the direct-to-device service it announced on Monday.
Amazon had signaled its intention to launch such a service—which will compete with one already offered by SpaceX—when it agreed to buy Globalstar in April (here’s what we wrote then). Globalstar already offers some satellite-to-cellphone services, including satellite connectivity available on Apple’s iPhones. The new service also builds on Amazon’s yet-to-launch Leo broadband service, which will compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.
Amazon isn’t advertising this cell service as a competitor to Verizon or T-Mobile, to be sure. It said today the new service would “complement existing mobile networks, filling coverage gaps.” That’s a strategy similar to what SpaceX is pursuing. So how big a business could that be? It’s hard to tell. But one thing is for sure: It won’t be as profitable a business for either #SpaceX 🚀 or Amazon once they’re both in it.
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