Amazon has announced plans to launch its first internet satellites by the end of next year, putting itself in competition with Elon Musk and his industry-leading satellite company, SpaceX.
Amazon filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission Monday to launch and operate two prototype satellites through its Project Kuiper initiative, to which it has committed at least $10 billion and 750 employees.
“We’ll soon be ready to see how [the satellites] perform in space,” Amazon Vice President of Technology Rajeev Badyal said in a statement. “There is no substitute for on-orbit testing, and we expect to learn a lot given the complexity and risk of operating in such a challenging environment.”
The Project Kuiper initiative plans to have 3,236 satellites to shoot high-speed internet around the world, with Verizon announcing last week that it would partner with Amazon and its new satellites to help expand access to the internet in rural areas across the United States.
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Meanwhile, Musk’s company SpaceX has its own satellite broadband program, known as Starlink, which has already launched 1,700 satellites, the most in the country. After Amazon announced its Project Kuiper satellite initiative in 2019, Musk criticized Bezos by calling him a copycat.
Since launching last October, Musk’s service has attracted more than 10,000 users in six countries and has been particularly popular in remote parts of northern America, where it was first rolled out for $99 a month.
The Starlink service is not cheap, though — a major obstacle to the company’s growth. On top of the $99 monthly subscription, customers must shell out $499 upfront for a mounting tripod, a Wi-Fi router, and a terminal to connect to the satellites.
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SpaceX said Starlink is not trying to replace or beat the internet service of “giant providers AT&T, Comcast, etc.” but is “very complementary to the services that they provide.”
