Amazon files for a 5,105-satellite direct-to-phone network — a new front against AST and Starlink

Amazon's Kuiper Systems filed an FCC application to deploy up to 5,105 low-Earth-orbit satellites (510–580km, 6–8 year lifespans) for "Amazon Leo," a direct-to-device network delivering voice, messaging, mobile broadband, emergency calling and IoT to unmodified smartphones — especially outside terrestrial coverage. It would use Globalstar spectrum, tied to Amazon's ~$11.6B agreement to acquire Globalstar (expected to close 2027). Amazon plans to begin deploying the D2D constellation in 2028.

Why it matters

The direct-to-device race just added its deepest-pocketed entrant. This is a structural pressure on AST SpaceMobile specifically: AST's whole thesis is a first-mover window built on carrier deals like Vodafone and Rakuten, and Amazon arriving with its own spectrum (Globalstar), balance sheet and cloud distribution compresses that window — the same week AST was already fighting a slipped 2027 timeline and a halved stock. Against Starlink's incumbent D2C service, it makes D2D a three-way capital war. The caveat is timing: this is an FCC filing with a 2028 deployment target, so the competitive pressure is on the narrative today and the sky years out.

What to watch

FCC treatment of the Globalstar-spectrum filing, the Globalstar acquisition closing in 2027, and whether Amazon signs carrier partners that overlap AST's — the tell for how directly the two collide.