en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Radio Regulations Board of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU/RRB) formally rejected a regulatory extension request submitted by satellite operator Globalstar on July 10, 2026.
Globalstar had sought an administrative modification to adjust its launch and deployment obligations for a non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) constellation licensed in France, operating under the names HIBLEO-X and HIBLEO-4. The company is currently engaged in a $11.6 billion acquisition and corporate integration strategy with Amazon.com Inc. Globalstar applied to the international body for schedule relief, citing historical "force majeure" events, claiming that a major earthquake in April 2009 damaged the electronic component manufacturing facility of Thales Alenia Space in L'Aquila, Italy, where some early hardware payload infrastructure was being assembled, causing severe disruption to the initial hardware manufacturing timeline. However, the ITU Security and Regulatory Committee determined that manufacturer disruption does not constitute a valid basis for delaying modern milestones, and noted that the operator failed to conduct adequate risk assessments and supply chain due diligence regarding its contracted manufacturing site.
The HIBLEO architecture is an integrated mobile satellite service (MSS) network designed to route low-latency voice, tracking data, and emergency messaging services. Technical configurations for the construction and operational phases include: 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 inter-satellite downlinks; international regulatory licensing through Globalstar France SAS via the French national framework, filed with the ITU; and a system deployment path intended to integrate the legacy French-authorized HIBLEO-X constellation with upcoming replacement space stations to maintain persistent orbital coverage.
Enforcement of the original launch milestones introduces regulatory complexity for Amazon's broader direct-to-device (D2D) strategy. Under the pending merger terms, Amazon plans to integrate Globalstar's globally coordinated L-band and S-band spectrum assets with its own Project Kuiper broadband infrastructure to support a unified network capable of directly serving cellular devices from low Earth orbit. Although Globalstar is concurrently building replacement satellites with alternative contractors to update its aging second-generation hardware, the ITU's strict ruling on milestones limits the company's ability to defer regulatory deadlines. Corporate legal teams must now coordinate with French regulators to meet active operational parameters, or risk international spectrum coordination constraints that could limit the joint system's peak capacity ahead of the target 2028 deployment window.
