FCC Approval Gives Amazon the Spectrum to Challenge AST SpaceMobile

Amazon has cleared the Federal Communications Commission hurdle that matters most for its planned move into direct-to-phone satellite service: access to spectrum Globalstar already controls. The FCC's Space Bureau approved the transfer of Globalstar's licenses and about 25 megahertz of internationally harmonized mobile-satellite spectrum to Amazon. The decision completes the FCC's review of the acquisition, but it does not put Amazon's new service into operation.

The transaction is often described as an $11.5 billion deal. Amazon's second-quarter filing said the acquisition implied a value of about $10.9 billion, including debt, when it was announced. The final consideration can vary with Amazon's share price and shareholder elections. Globalstar investors may choose $90 in cash or 0.321 Amazon shares, with the stock option capped at $90. Cash elections are limited to 40% of Globalstar shares, and the total payment can be reduced by as much as $110 million if Globalstar misses specified operational milestones.

Amazon is buying more than an existing satellite fleet. Globalstar brings spectrum, ground infrastructure and a relationship that supports satellite features on compatible Apple devices. Amazon plans to begin deploying its next-generation direct-to-device system in 2028, but its separate application for as many as 5,105 satellites remains pending. The acquisition is still expected to close in 2027 and remains subject to other approvals and replacement-satellite milestones.

That timing matters for AST SpaceMobile. AST already has FCC authority for up to 248 satellites and agreements with AT&T, Verizon and FirstNet. Amazon is not yet offering a comparable full-scale service, but the combination gives a well-funded entrant the spectrum and infrastructure it needs to pursue one. The FCC concluded that the deal could improve coverage, emergency communications and enterprise data services, and found no material public-interest harm from the transfer.

Stocktwits reported that ASTS shares rose 6% on Tuesday to $41.96, then slipped more than 1% in overnight trading after the approval. The shares were still down 29% for the month. That short trading window is not a clean measure of the deal's long-term effect, especially because Amazon must still build, launch and secure operating approval for the new constellation.

For AST SpaceMobile investors, the competitive risk grows most clearly from 2028 onward, not immediately. Amazon now has a credible route to spectrum, an established Apple service relationship and the capital to build at scale. AST retains an earlier deployment path and major U.S. carrier partnerships. The next useful evidence will be Amazon's separate system approval, the acquisition's closing, deployment progress and signed carrier commitments, not one overnight price move.