en.Wedoany.com Reported - The International Telecommunication Union's Radio Regulations Board (ITU/RRB) formally rejected a regulatory extension request from satellite operator Globalstar Inc. on July 10, 2026. The company had sought administrative modifications to adjust the launch and deployment obligations of its French-licensed non-geostationary satellite constellation (codenamed HIBLEO-X and HIBLEO-4).
Globalstar, currently undergoing an $11.6 billion acquisition and integration with Amazon.com Inc., cited historical force majeure events as grounds for the schedule adjustment. The company claimed that a major earthquake in April 2009 damaged the electronic component manufacturing facility of Thales Alenia Space in L’Aquila, Italy, severely disrupting the initial hardware production timeline. The ITU Security and Regulatory Committee ruled that the manufacturer's disruption did not constitute a valid reason for delaying modern milestones, noting that the operator had failed to conduct adequate risk assessments and supply chain due diligence on the contracted manufacturing facility.
The HIBLEO architecture operates as an integrated Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) network designed to transmit low-latency voice, tracking data, and emergency messages. Its technical configuration includes: operating frequencies in the Big LEO band, using 1610–1626.5 MHz (L-band) for user terminal uplinks and 2483.5–2500 MHz (S-band) for space-to-ground downlinks. International regulatory licensing was obtained through Globalstar France SAS via the French national framework and filed with the ITU. The system deployment path aims to integrate the French-authorized legacy HIBLEO-X constellation with upcoming space station replacements to maintain orbital coverage.
Strict enforcement of the original launch milestones introduces regulatory complexity for Amazon's broader Direct-to-Device (D2D) strategy. Under the merger terms, Amazon plans to merge Globalstar's L-band and S-band spectrum assets with its Project Kuiper broadband infrastructure to support a unified network serving cellular devices from low Earth orbit. While Globalstar is building replacement satellites in parallel with other contractors, the ITU ruling limits its ability to defer regulatory deadlines. The company's legal team must coordinate with French regulators to meet operational parameters, or risk international spectrum coordination constraints that could impact the combined system's peak capacity ahead of the target 2028 deployment window.
