AMAZON PLANS NATIONWIDE BROADBAND—WITH BOTH HOME AND MOBILE SERVICE
Communications Technology, internet. 3D render
SOURCE: ARSTECHNICA.COM
Amazon is seeking government permission to launch 3,236 broadband satellites that would cover nearly all of the United States and much of the rest of the world.
Amazon subsidiary Kuiper Systems filed its application with the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday last week, saying it intends to cover all of the US except most of Alaska.
“The Kuiper System covers the area between 56°N and 56°S latitudes,” the Amazon subsidiary told the FCC. “Accordingly, customers throughout [the] continental US, Hawaii, and all US territories will have access to Kuiper System services. So too will customers in many other countries within the coverage area. The Kuiper System will not provide FSS [fixed-satellite service] in the majority of Alaska, however, because the state’s high latitude is outside of the coverage area.”
Amazon’s plan for a nearly global broadband system was previously revealed in filings with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as we reported in April. It’s not clear when Amazon will launch this service, but FCC rules require the launch of 50% of satellites within six years of authorization and all of them within nine years unless a waiver is granted.
