You’ve likely experienced the experience of completely losing network access on your phone as soon as you venture into a remote area, forest, or mountain. This leaves you unable to make calls or send messages. But what if your smartphone could work without any mobile towers, by receiving signals directly from space? E-commerce and tech giant Amazon is making significant efforts to address this problem.
Amazon is now preparing to connect your smartphone directly to space. The company is launching a new direct-to-device (D2D) network under its Amazon LEO project. This will allow users to make phone calls, message messages, access internet data, and access emergency services even when there’s no mobile network.
Amazon has submitted an application to the US regulator, the FCC, seeking approval to deploy 5,105 low-Earth orbit satellites. If approved, this service will be launched in 2028.
The company’s new D2D network will connect directly to your smartphone instead of your home or office broadband.
This service will work with telecom operators around the world to extend the network to remote areas, forests, oceans, or disaster-affected areas.
Amazon recently acquired Globalstar’s spectrum assets, which currently support the Apple iPhone’s Emergency SOS feature. Amazon now plans to work with Apple on a future satellite service.
These Amazon satellites will be significantly more advanced than normal satellites. Instead of simply transmitting signals back to Earth, they will process data in space, improving internet speeds and reducing interference.
L-band and S-band spectrum will be used to connect to smartphones, while Ka-band and V-band will be used for data transfer.
Amazon is also rapidly expanding its fixed broadband satellite business. The company currently has over 390 satellites in orbit. At the IAFI Space Policy Conference 2026, Amazon described India as a very important market for itself and said that this technology will prove to be very beneficial for India’s digital economy and improving connectivity in remote areas.
If this service is launched, the people of India will also benefit a lot. Connectivity will be available in areas where the network has not yet reached properly. However, this path is not so easy. American businessman Elon Musk’s company Starlink is also preparing to launch its service in India, but due to some reasons, this service has not been launched yet.