It may take years before Amazon’s satellite internet service, Project Kuiper, begins serving actual customers. But the company is already eyeing developing a second-generation satellite network.
On Thursday, Amazon filed an application with the FCC to one day operate an additional 7,774 satellites in low-Earth orbit through a “second-generation constellation” for Project Kuiper.
According to Amazon, the extra satellites will enable the company to “expand the capacity and range” for its first-generation network of 3,326 satellites, which has already secured FCC approval.
However, the company has yet to launch any Kuiper System satellites into space. Instead, the first prototypes are scheduled to go up in 2022’s fourth quarter.
Nevertheless, Amazon’s application says the second-generation network will help the company supply “high-speed, low-cost, and low-latency broadband services to tens of millions of customers domestically and internationally.”
“The Kuiper System will utilize both fixed and mobile customer terminals, equipping them with the flexibility not only to facilitate essential connectivity for schools, hospitals, libraries, and government operations, but also to support disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and other critical services by land, air, or sea,” Amazon added.
Amazon filed the proposal as several other companies, including Boeing, Hughes Network and Telesat, submitted their own applications to also expand their satellite internet constellations. According to CNBC, Thursday marked an FCC deadline for its latest processing round to approve the radio spectrum necessary to operate the satellite internet networks. Hence, numerous companies rushed to stake a claim.
However, SpaceX, the company behind Starlink, refrained from filing a new application. The company is already seeking FCC approval for a second-generation Starlink constellation that’ll be made up of nearly 30,000 satellites. But rivals including Amazon oppose aspects of SpaceX's proposal.