Amazon’s Project Leo seeks FCC approval for up to 5,105 direct-to-device satellites using Globalstar spectrum

Amazon Leo, the satellite initiative within Amazon, has laid out plans for a new constellation of up to 5,105 satellites intended to connect compatible mobile devices directly from space. In a description of the service, Amazon says the network is built to support voice, data, messaging, and emergency services, extending connectivity globally in a way that does not depend entirely on terrestrial cell towers.

The proposal is framed as a partnership model. Amazon says Leo will work with mobile network operators to deliver the service, with satellite deployment beginning in 2028. The company’s materials describe Leo as a system that links directly to mobile devices, rather than requiring users to connect through standard satellite phones or dedicated terminals.

A central element of the plan is spectrum use. Amazon says Leo will use Globalstar’s spectrum to carry the indicates between satellites and mobile phones. The choice of spectrum matters because it determines what portion of radio frequencies the system can occupy, how it coexists with other users, and what technical requirements the network must meet to avoid harmful interference.

Amazon also emphasizes adjacent-channel performance, a technical concept that refers to how much a transmitter’s announcement spills into nearby frequency bands. According to Amazon, the satellites will be designed to keep their announcement energy within assigned frequency channels, with minimal leakage into neighboring bands. The goal, Amazon says, is to protect other operators while expanding usable capacity for Leo’s direct-to-device service.

The company further describes how it plans to improve performance for low-power phone indicates. Amazon says the satellites will use dual-polarization reception, receiving in two orientations simultaneously on the same frequency band. That approach is intended to capture more information from the same transmissions and improve the quality of service when indicates are weak.

To manage varying conditions in space-to-phone links, Amazon says Leo will use adaptive modulation and coding. In plain terms, the system continuously adjusts how data is packaged and transmitted based on real-time announcement quality. Amazon’s explanation says the network can deliver higher data rates when conditions are favorable and maintain reliable connections when they are not.

Direct-to-device satellite services are an increasingly competitive segment of the broader space and telecom industry. If Amazon’s timeline and regulatory path proceed, Leo would join a set of efforts aimed at narrowing the gap between cellular networks and satellite communications, particularly for rural coverage gaps, disaster response, and regions where deploying terrestrial towers is slow or expensive.

For Amazon, the project fits into a wider strategy of using its scale and technical capabilities to operate communications infrastructure alongside its cloud and consumer businesses. While the company has not, in the material provided here, detailed how operator partnerships will be structured commercially, it is clear that mobile network operators are expected to play a role in deploying and offering the service to customers.

As with many early-stage satellite proposals, the public description leaves several items unspecified. The materials provided do not name which specific mobile network operators are expected to participate, how quickly capacity would ramp after deployment begins in 2028, or what exact performance targets the service will meet in different geographies. They also do not outline the full set of regulatory conditions that could attach to any authorization.

What to watch next is whether Amazon’s FCC process moves toward an approval that includes build milestones, interference protections, and rules for service operation. Companies in this space often face extended scrutiny over spectrum compatibility, network engineering, and achievable coverage, so future disclosures on partner deals and detailed operational parameters would be key indicates for investors and telecom stakeholders.