Amazon Targets Starlink With Massive Direct-To-Phone Satellite Service
Amazon has filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to launch up to 5,105 low-Earth orbit satellites, establishing a direct-to-device (D2D) telecommunications network that supports voice, data, messaging, and emergency services.
Operating through its Amazon Leo satellite internet division, the proposed system will deliver D2D services directly to compatible mobile devices that skip ground towers or satellite dishes. With satellite deployment scheduled to begin in 2028, the constellation aims to eliminate connectivity dead zones for billions of people living, working, or traveling across unserved corners of the globe.
The FCC filing follows Amazon’s $11.6 billion acquisition of satellite provider Globalstar that consequently secured crucial global Mobile Satellite Services spectrum licenses in the S-band and L-band frequencies. Amazon plans to distribute its satellite fleet across five tailored orbital shells at altitudes between 510 and 580 kilometers, combining three mid-latitude bands for densely populated regions with two high-inclination shells reaching into polar zones.
Unlike so-called bent pipe satellites that bounce signals back down to Earth, Amazon Leo’s D2D spacecraft will process data onboard in orbit. Equipped with optical inter-satellite laser links, the satellites can route traffic dynamically through space before relaying aggregated data to Earth via high-capacity Ka-band and V-band ground links. The system incorporates digital beamforming, beam-hopping, dual-polarization reception, and adaptive signal coding to concentrate radio energy where demand peaks.
The platform will work with smartphones featuring satellite-capable chipsets from major brands like Apple and Google, thus filling in communication gaps when ground networks are knocked offline by natural disasters or unavailable in deep wilderness, for example. The network will also support enterprise operations, disaster response coordination, remote worksites, global fleet tracking, and industrial IoT sensors.
So far, Amazon has lined up a few key partners across tech and telecom. The company agreed to power space-based features for supported Apple devices (including Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistance) while forming telecom alliances with Vodafone, DirecTV, South Africa's Herotel, and Australia's National Broadband Network to complement existing terrestrial cell coverage.
Amazon's D2D service will expand Leo’s broader space portfolio and complement its fixed broadband network that connects homes and businesses through Leo Nano, Pro, and Ultra antennas. With more than 390 first-generation satellites already in orbit, Amazon looks to be on track to roll out initial fixed satellite broadband services in select regions later this year.
