Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite system is said to expect to receive a licence to operate over India shortly. India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is currently evaluating the application documents submitted by the Amazon-owned company. Kuiper, once licensed, will join Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s satellite partner SES, as well as Elon Musk’s Starlink, in bidding […]
Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband-by-satellite system, potentially the main rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink, has again delayed its launch date. Kuiper’s first satellites will not now launch much before the end of the year. The company talks about Q4, but has not given a firm date. Amazon had previously said that its debut satellites would launch […]
Vrio Corporation, parent company of DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, and Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network, have announced a distribution agreement to offer internet connectivity in seven countries in South America. Vrio plans to use Project Kuiper’s network to provide connectivity services to residential customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, […]
The overpowering message to emerge from last week’s Asia Satellite Industry Forum is that the likes of SkyPerfectJSAT, AsiaSat, Measat and ABS are all missing the potential business that could flow from low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. The key speakers all admitted that partnerships with LEO players would help relieve the slow, but steady, decline […]
Project Kuiper is planning its own mega-constellation and has already raised concerns about SpaceX’s proposed occupation of the 604 and 614 kms orbits. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has written to the FCC complaining about a SpaceX request to adjust the altitude of 7,500 satellites previously authorised to operate at altitudes of 525, 530 and 535 kms, […]
Vodafone says it will not support Starlink with the satellite operator’s plans for orbiting ‘direct-to-device’ and cellular connectivity. Starlink last week orbited an initial six satellites capable of direct connection and plans to launch more than 800 extra satellites during 2024. Vodafone has ruled out a partnership with Starlink because it has already signed an […]
Analysts at CCG Consulting report that their examination of Ookla download statistics for satellite operators, and in particular SpaceX’s Starlink, shows a “significant improvement” in download speeds in Q3 2023 when compared with the position at the end of 2022. However, there are caveats. CCG says: “Starlink’s median download speed in the third quarter of […]
Analysts at Euroconsult forecast that the next decade will see some 28,700 satellites launched into space. The activity will be worth around $588 billion (€536.4bn). Activity from, Starlink, Project Kuiper, Telesat’s Lightspeed, Eutelsat/OneWeb and Chinese craft will lead the exponential growth. The analysts admit that their forecast might be an underestimate; they have included in […]
India’s government is proposing that satellite spectrum over the country will be assigned without would-be operators having to bid for the bandwidth. This rule, if enabled, will be a major advantage for the likes of Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Eutelsat/OneWeb and Elon Musk’s SpaceX/Starlink. The proposed Bill was tabled for approval in India’s parliament on December […]
Amazon’s Project Kuiper mega-constellation has surprisingly ordered three rocket launches from rival SpaceX. It seems the SpaceX launches are needed to ensure that Kuiper meets its ITU obligations to orbit 50 per cent of its 3,236 fleet by July-2026. Coincidentally, the order comes at the same time as a lawsuit from an institutional investor is […]