According to reports, Amazon and U.S. telecom operator Verizon jointly announced today that Verizon will use Amazon’s “Project
Kuiper’s satellite network provides broadband Internet services to rural and remote areas. In this regard, Amazon CEO Andy Jiaxi (Andy
Jassy) said in a statement today: “We are proud to work together to bring fast and reliable broadband services to the customers and communities that need broadband the most.”
As early as April 2019, Amazon announced that it would set up a “Project Kuiper” satellite network, which will consist of 3236 satellites, aimed at providing broadband Internet services to users around the world.
Amazon also said at the time: “This is a long-term project dedicated to providing services to tens of millions of people who lack basic broadband Internet access. We look forward to establishing partnerships with companies that share a common vision on this initiative.”
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the plan. Amazon said it plans to invest more than US$10 billion in the “Project Kuiper” satellite network.
In this cooperation, Verizon will use the “Project Kuiper” satellite network as an extension of its ground services to expand Verizon’s 4G/LTE and 5G data networks. At present, the teams of Amazon and Verizon have begun to work together to define technical requirements to help extend the fixed wireless coverage to the fullbeautifulRural and remote communities.
As for future application cases, the two companies stated that they will consider agriculture, energy, manufacturing,educate, Emergency response, transportation and other industries to provide “joint connection solutions”.
In the satellite Internet market, SpaceX’s “Starlink” network is an early leader in this market. So far, SpaceX has launched 1,740 satellites, and more than 100,000 users have participated in the public beta in 14 countries and regions. The service price is US$99 per month.
Following SpaceX is the British company OneWeb. Of the 648 satellites planned to be launched, nearly half are already operating in low-Earth orbit. Other competitors include the US’s AST SpaceMobile and Canadian satellite operator Telesat.
So far, Amazon has not put any “Project Kuiper” satellites into orbit. But earlier this year, Amazon signed an agreement with the United Launch Alliance for nine launches. According to the FCC’s authorization, Amazon must deploy half of its planned satellites within six years. This means that Amazon must put about 1,600 satellites into orbit by July 2026.