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Globalstar runs a network of satellites that connects phones, trackers, and industrial devices, and it sells both the satellite service and the devices that use it.
Globalstar is a satellite communications company. It owns a constellation of satellites in low orbit around the Earth and sells the ability to send and receive data and voice through them — mostly in places where regular cell towers do not reach, like the middle of the ocean, deep forest, or a disaster zone where the local network has gone down.
Its biggest business today is connecting devices, not people talking on phones. Globalstar is the power behind Apple's satellite feature that lets an iPhone send an emergency SOS text when there is no cell signal, and it also makes money selling its own satellite phones, trackers, and data gear, plus airtime plans for shipping, oil, military, and government customers. Customers pay Globalstar for the devices and for ongoing service, and they choose it because ordinary cellular networks simply do not cover the places they work. The Apple relationship is the story that matters. In 2024, Apple agreed to invest up to $1.5 billion to beef up Globalstar's satellite network, with Apple paying for the new satellites and Globalstar running them. That deal turned a struggling, capital-hungry operator into something closer to a partner to the world's biggest phone maker. The catch is concentration: a large share of Globalstar's revenue now leans on one customer, and the company depends on Apple continuing to want to pay for satellite messaging inside the iPhone. Globalstar is not alone in this space. Iridium and SpaceX's Starlink are the loud competitors, and AST SpaceMobile is chasing direct-to-phone service too. Globalstar's own bet is spectrum licenses it owns, which it uses to run its network. The business burns through cash to build and refresh satellites, so investors mostly watch the Apple partnership and its growth rather than steady profits. It is a small company with an outsized role in making sure your phone can still call for help when nothing else works.
Saved answer · last researched 21 Oct 2026
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