Amazon has asked federal regulators for permission to build one of the largest satellite fleets ever proposed — and this one is aimed directly at the phone in your pocket.
According to Reuters, Amazon's Leo unit filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to deploy a constellation of up to 5,105 satellites, with deployment beginning in 2028, to provide direct-to-device voice and data connectivity.
The Verge reports the filing was submitted on Saturday and covers "voice, messaging, data, and emergency services." If the FCC signs off, Amazon would start putting the 5,105 satellites into orbit in 2028.
CNBC adds an important piece of the puzzle: the proposed network will partly rely on assets from Globalstar, the satellite operator Amazon announced plans to acquire in April for roughly $11.6 billion. In other words, Amazon isn't starting entirely from scratch — the acquisition gives it existing infrastructure to build on.
The phrase to focus on is "direct-to-device." Most satellite internet today requires a dish or a specialized terminal to pull the signal down and hand it to your devices. Direct-to-device skips that middle step: the satellite talks to an ordinary phone. That is what makes a filing like this consequential rather than incremental — it turns a satellite network into something closer to a global cell tower grid, reaching places where no carrier has ever built one.
The scale of the request is also notable. Five thousand satellites is not a pilot project; it's an attempt to operate a full worldwide network, which is why it needs FCC approval in the first place.
Why it matters: if approved, Amazon would be positioning itself to sell connectivity directly to everyday phone users anywhere on Earth — a business that until recently belonged almost entirely to traditional mobile carriers.