Amazon’s Project Kuiper — A Threat to Elon Musk’s Starlink?

Key Takeaways

• Amazon’s Project Kuiper is competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
• Starlink has a significant head start.
• However, Amazon’s wealth, connections, and existing infrastructure put it in good standing to close the gap. 

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink in the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite market, and the battle is heating up.

As of August 2024, 6,350 Starlink  satellites were in orbit, and zero satellites from Kuiper—but Amazon is looking to close the gap quickly.

UK Telecom Regulator May Grant Access to Project Kuiper

On Thursday Sept. 5, the British telecommunications regulator proposed allowing  Amazon’s Project Kuiper to launch a rival broadband satellite network to Musk’s Starlink. 

If a license is granted by Ofcom, Kuiper will be able to supply customers with outdoor antennae, known as terminals, to provide high-speed broadband services.

What Is Amazon’s Project Kuiper?

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is an ambitious initiative to deploy a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet access globally. 

The company aims to offer broadband from over 3,000 satellites in LEO and is planning to launch its first satellites before the end of 2024.

The project’s goal is to deliver affordable and reliable internet connectivity to underserved and remote regions where traditional broadband infrastructure is either unavailable or insufficient. 

Project Kuiper received a license  from the Federal Communications Commission in 2020 to launch 3,236 satellites. It requires the company to have 1,600 satellites in space by mid-2026.

Unlike Starlink, Amazon does not have in-house rockets to deploy their satellites into orbit. This means that the company is relying on third-party contracts to deliver its first satellite fleet.

In 2022, Amazon signed contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance  for up to 83 launches to deploy its 3,236-satellite constellation. The contracts represented the largest single commercial launch order to date.

How Does It Compare to Musk’s Starlink?

Elon Musk has dominated the space industry with SpaceX and Starlink. Launched in 2019, Starlink currently has over two million customers across 60 countries.

The company’s LEO internet broadband satellite constellation is the largest fleet of satellites in the world, with over 6,000  currently operating in orbit.

However, while Starlink has had a significant head start, Project Kuiper is positioning itself as a formidable challenger.

A key driver in Amazon’s strategy is to build off its infrastructure. Amazon will bundle Kuiper  access with its leading cloud platform, Amazon Web Services, and other data storage services. 

Amazon CEO Andy Jassey previously said  the Kuiper satellite service will be a core part of the business going forward. The immense wealth of the company should allow it to scale up operations quickly once it begins deploying satellites.

About the Author

Kurt Robson

Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN with a diverse background across several prominent news outlets. Having transitioned into the world of technology journalism several years ago, Kurt has developed a keen fascination with all things AI. Kurt’s reporting blends a passion for innovation with a commitment to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories on the cutting edge of technology.

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