The Amazon project to create a network of satellite high speed Internet Project Kuiper showed promising result of a prototype antenna, which is allowed to broadcast “streaming 4K video quality from the geostationary satellite”. In July, the Federal communications Commission (FCC) approved the creation of this network of Internet satellites.
On Wednesday, Amazon (AMZN) introduced the design of antennas that her clients will use to connect to the future massive satellite network of the company Kuiper Project, intended “to provide broadband access to the Internet from space”.
A subsidiary of Amazon Kuiper Systems LLC (commonly called Kuiper Project) was officially registered in 2019 and in July of this year has been approved by the Federal communications Commission (FCC) to output in low earth orbit its Internet satellites, the signal from which to obtain ground targets.
None of the planned 3236 Internet satellites Kuiper has not yet been launched, according to the company, this task can be supplied such companies as Astra, Relativity and Virgin Space Orbit. Part of the FCC approval Amazon Kuiper Project requires sending about half of its planned total network of satellites over the next six years. According to a statement by Amazon, the company plans to invest in Project Kuiper more than $10 billion.
The company SpaceX Elon musk pursuing the same goal with his initiative Starlink, with an estimated group of nearly 12,000 satellites, launched about 1000 of its Starlink satellites and even started the initial beta testing, providing selected customers home antenna to connect to the satellites and Internet coverage.
However, Amazon’s engineers have made a breakthrough in the design of the prototype antenna Kuiper, which will receive data from geostationary satellites, achieving “the maximum throughput to 400 Mbit/s” with low latency. In addition, during the test antenna to receive data from geostationary satellites that are 50 times farther from the place where the Project Kuiper satellites will eventually be placed (low earth orbit).
This gives the possibility to use the antenna for streaming video quality 4K. For the Amazon statement, with a diameter of just 12 inches, this antenna is “smaller and lighter than outdated design”, but also smaller antennas of other manufacturers, including SpaceX.
Experts indicate that this unique design of the antennas will help to make the Internet a Project from Kuiper widely available service because it will significantly reduce the cost and complexity of building the terrestrial infrastructure that will be required to provide access to its network to end users. This development may put the project at Amazon a leading position in the industry.
Rajiv Badal, Vice President, technology Project Kuiper confirmed that in the course of development, the company pursues the task of creating a satellite network with affordable price Internet services for customers.
Senior Vice President for devices and services Amazon David Limp in an interview with Tech Church said he did not believe that Kuiper Project is in direct competition with Starlink from SpaceX, because there is a very wide addressable market for the provision of affordable high-speed Internet worldwide for all unserved customers or customers who have insufficient Internet coverage.
