Amazon is preparing to launch its own satellite internet service to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, founded by Elon Musk. This Tuesday (14), the North American giant presented the ultra-compact residential and commercial terminals that will connect users to the company’s constellation of satellites.
Called “Project Kuiper”, the internet service via satellite will feature different models of antennas that can be discreetly installed to connect to Amazon’s low-orbit satellites, which promises to bring compact, simplified, low-cost, high-performance network solutions to democratize access.
economy and market
15 Fev
economy and market
15 Fev
According to the company, its most ambitious goal was to develop terminals that cost less than US$ 500 (about R$ 2,629) to build. This goal was achieved by Project Kuiper engineers in 2020, and the results are satisfactory for Amazon to maintain its expectation to launch the service by the end of 2024.
The standard customer terminal measures about 70 square centimeters, is 2.5 centimeters thick and weighs only 2.2 kilograms. Despite their compact form factor, the antennas will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 400 Mbps. The cost, previously expected to be in the $500 range, will be less than $400 per unit. Check out:
Amazon also talks about an even more compact and portable version of the antenna, which would have an area of only 45 square centimeters and would weigh around 450 grams. On the other hand, this hardware would be speed capped at 100 Mbps. See in the image below:
Finally, there would be most advanced terminal in the portfolio capable of delivering 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) with a beefier form factor that would measure around 48 x 76 centimeters. This model will be aimed at large companies and government applications that require the highest bandwidth in the satellite connection.
“Our goal with Project Kuiper is not only to connect underserved and underserved communities, but also to delight them with the quality, reliability and value of its service,” said Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s vice president of technology for Project Kuiper.
From day one, every technology and business decision we’ve made has focused on what will deliver the best experience for different customers around the world, and our range of client terminals reflects these choices.
Amazon plans to launch satellites into the project’s constellation in the first half of 2024 so that it can serve “tens of millions of customers” in the future. For now, the company is preparing to launch two prototype satellites in May 2023.