- Amazon is looking to provide satellite broadband for the UK market
- ‘Project Kuiper’ will look to rival SpaceX
- Satellite internet could provide a large-scale backup plan for subsea infrastructure
Amazon is planning to deploy 3,000 satellites as part of ‘Project Kuiper’ – which aims to be a direct rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX as both hope to break into the UK broadband market.
The project is not yet operational, but is expected to be launched in early 2025, with the broadband service is set to roll out later this year.
The move is somewhat of a gamble, especially considering the satellites will need approval from the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, in order to be allowed to provide broadband services. The project’s application is still being considered, with final decision pending – although a consultation was closed in October after Ofcom denied approval.
Amazon or SpaceX?
Under the current plan, the satellites will use terminals at first, but will then explore ‘direct to device’ services, which would see smartphones connected directly to the satellites. If the consultation is successful, direct to device services could be available within the year.
Amazon is aiming to use low Earth orbit satellites to provide ‘affordable broadband’ to rural areas of the UK, with the intention of offering ‘secure, high speed, low latency broadband services’ to a variety of wholesale customers, like schools, offices, and hospitals.
This project puts Amazon in direct competition with Starlink, which is the internet subsidiary of SpaceX, and is currently operational in over 100 countries – including the UK, to which the firm first provided services in 2021.
Starlink recently announced it is seeking a billion dollar deal with the Italian government for telecommunications, with a five year contract to provide telephone and internet encryption for the government. In this deal, it is reported that direct to device services would be in discussion, including to Italian military organisations in the Mediterranean.
Following critical infrastructure incursions, including on sea bed internet cables, provisions for backup options have been in development. As it stands, 95% of international data is handled through subsea cables, but NATO has recently allocated up to $400,000 in diversifying communications, primarily focusing on satellite technology.
