Overview
- Amazon submitted an application to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission requesting authorization for an Amazon Leo D2D system of up to 5,105 low Earth orbit satellites that would reach smartphones and IoT devices without cell towers.
- The plan depends on Amazon’s April agreement to acquire Globalstar for its L‑band and S‑band spectrum, a deal Amazon expects to close in 2027 and which the company says is central to the D2D design.
- Amazon says deployment would begin in 2028 if regulators approve the proposal, and the D2D satellites would be integrated with Amazon’s existing Leo broadband fleet and Globalstar’s HIBLEO and C‑3 assets to route traffic across systems.
- The FCC filing details a five‑shell architecture at roughly 510–580 km, use of L/S bands for device links and Ka/V bands for ground links, on‑orbit signal processing and optical inter‑satellite links, and spacecraft lifetimes of six to eight years.
- The proposal raises competition with SpaceX’s Starlink and others and faces practical limits from regulatory review, spectrum coordination and launch capacity, while its near‑term value for consumers may be focused on emergency messaging, basic voice/text and remote IoT services.