Amazon said on Tuesday it will acquire a satellite company in an $11.57 billion deal, strengthening its emerging space operations as it seeks to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The agreement gives Amazon access to Globalstar’s network of about two dozen satellites, advancing its efforts to challenge SpaceX’s Starlink service, which currently operates roughly 10,000 satellites in orbit.

According to company, under the terms of the deal, Globalstar shareholders can choose to receive either $90 in cash or 0.3210 Amazon shares for each share they hold.

Amazon is working to expand its satellite network, aiming to deploy about 3,200 satellites into low-Earth orbit by 2029, with roughly half expected to be in place ahead of a July 2026 regulatory deadline.

The company currently operates more than 200 satellites and is preparing to launch its satellite internet services later this year.

By comparison, Elon Musk’s Starlink, the leading satellite internet provider, already serves over 9 million users worldwide.

Globalstar, a U.S.-based company known for supporting Apple’s “Emergency SOS” feature, operates about two dozen low-Earth orbit satellites.

Late last year, it said a new Apple-backed expansion plan would grow the constellation to 54 satellites, including several backup units.