Amazon to forge ahead with plan to build global internet after filing to launch 3,236 satellites

Amazon gears up Project Kuiper with application for satellite launches to the FCC and ramping up hiring

Amazon is forging ahead with its plans to build a global internet network with an application filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 3,236 communications satellites.

The satellite launches are part of Amazon's Project Kuiper initiative "to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world".

The company has been seeking to recruit as many as 73 technical staff to support the initiative, with new job openings throughout the year.

The application was filed on 4th July. The application , in which Amazon asked the Commission to give its approval to "launch and operate a non-geostationary satellite orbit system using Ka-band frequencies".

As per the filing, Amazon's satellites would be grouped into 98 orbital planes and would orbit the Earth while flying 590 to 630 kilometres above it. To avoid potential issues with space debris, the satellites would de-orbit in about 10 years.

The purpose of launching more than 3,000 satellites into space is to provide broadband internet services to "millions of unserved and underserved consumers and businesses in the US and around the globe".

In the filing, Amazon's wholly owned Kuiper Systems subsidiary cited several studies suggesting that 3.8 billion people across the world still don't have access to reliable broadband services. Even in the US, 21.3 million people lack access to a fixed broadband service.

"Amazon's mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company, and the Kuiper System is one of our ambitious projects to fulfil this mission," the filing states.

Amazon plans to use Ka-band frequencies, like those used by Iridium for interlinks with its latest satellites. The company said it could start to offer broadband internet services once 578 satellites are put into space.

According to Kuiper Systems, the satellite system would take advantage of the ground-based infrastructure that has already been created for Amazon Web Services.

The company, however, warns that its satellite system won't cover many regions across the globe, including some parts of Alaska.

Amazon is not the first company with big satellite ambitions. SpaceX has already launched its first batch of satellites in low Earth orbit for its Starlink broadband constellation. Earlier this year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that Starlink could earn $30 billion or more in revenues annually.

LeoSat Technologies, Telesat and OneWeb are some other companies that are also working on their plans to offer broadband services via Low earth orbit satellites.

However, this is not the first time that satellite broadband, supported by billionaires, has been tried.

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, a number of projects were launched, such as Teledesic and Iridium, backed by the likes of Bill Gates, Craig McCaw and Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal. However, they struggled to sttract significant customer bases and achieve profitability.