Amazon is refusing to let up on calling the FCC to regulate a SpaceX proposal concerning Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service.
On Wednesday, the e-commerce giant accused SpaceX CEO Elon Musk of trying to flout federal rules by resorting to attacks on Twitter to belittle his critics.
“The conduct of SpaceX and other Musk-led companies makes their view plain: rules are for other people, and those who insist upon or even simply request compliance are deserving of derision and ad hominem attacks,” Amazon wrote in a eight-page filing to the FCC.
The filing was made a week after Musk took to Twitter to mock Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ recent decision to step down as CEO. According to Musk, Bezos did so to take a full-time job filing lawsuits to stymie SpaceX. (On Tuesday, Musk threw more shade at Bezos over reports the former Amazon CEO is investing in an anti-aging startup.)
The two companies are currently locked in war of words over a proposed amendment for SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink network, which needs FCC clearance. SpaceX is requesting approval for two configurations to operate the 30,000-satellite constellation, only one of which will be used.
However, Amazon—which has plans for its own satellite internet network—is opposed to the amendment. Amazon claims the proposal breaks FCC rules for requesting approval for two satellite configurations instead of just one.
On Wednesday, Amazon cranked up the criticism following Musk’s tweet about Bezos and SpaceX’s own filing to the FCC defending its plan for the second-generation Starlink network.
Amazon’s main argument is that Musk has a record of repeatedly ignoring federal and local regulations and then using insults on social media to allegedly get his way. This includes last December's Starship launch, which violated the terms of SpaceX's license with the Federal Aviation Administration, and Musk reopening a Tesla factory in Californiat when COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders were still in effect.
Amazon, on the other hand, simply wants all companies to play by the same FCC rules. “To this problem, Amazon proposed a simple remedy: settle on a single constellation proposal (as all others do) and resubmit the amendment. Instead, SpaceX chose a more complicated path—one that involves misinformation, ad hominem attacks, and a belief that it can influence regulators via social media,” the company wrote in the filing.
“If SpaceX and Musk continue to hold themselves above the rules, they should buckle up: they will only draw further protest from Amazon and others who want to see rules applied to everyone equally,” Amazon added. "Amazon asks that the Commission show SpaceX that the rules apply to it as well. This—and only this—will free all those involved to return to the real work of closing the digital divide."
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But last week, the company accused Amazon of using lawyers, and not technology, to beat SpaceX’s Starlink network. “The Commission should recognize this delay tactic for what it is—a continuation of efforts by the Amazon family of companies to hinder competitors to compensate for Amazon’s failure to make progress of its own,” the company wrote in its own filing to the FCC.
"These games unfortunately have real consequences for consumers, who are not only denied service because of Amazon’s creeping development, but also lose access to faster moving competition," SpaceX added.