A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon’s Project Kuiper Internet Network satellite, which is expected to eventually rival Elon Musk’s Starlink system, is on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 9, 2025.
Joe Skipper | Reuters
Amazon has asked federal regulators to approve a request to launch up to 5,105 Internet satellites as part of a constellation of satellites that would provide direct connectivity to devices.
Amazon first telegraphed its plans to launch a direct-to-consumer network in April, the same day Amazon announced it was buying a satellite carrier. global star In a deal worth about $11.6 billion. D2D networks provide direct connectivity to smartphones and other devices via satellite instead of traditional cell towers.
Amazon said in a filing Saturday with the Federal Communications Commission that its direct-to-consumer network will combine existing infrastructure with Globalstar’s satellites and spectrum.
Amazon is targeting users who are “unserved or underserved” by existing wireless providers, the filing states. Other applications include supporting emergency operations such as search and rescue, and extending connectivity for work sites, vehicles, and supply chains in remote or hard-to-reach terrestrial networks.
“Amazon looks forward to delivering on the promise of direct-to-consumer connectivity, including to millions of people who live, travel, and work in places beyond the reach of today’s existing networks,” the company wrote.
Amazon previously said it expected the deal with Globalstar to close in 2027, with deployment of the D2D network beginning in 2028.
The company has been working on building Leo, an internet network from space, since April last year. space xStarlink is a leading low-orbit internet provider with a constellation of over 10,000 satellites.
Amazon currently has more than 390 satellites in orbit, which it recently announced is enough to launch “initial services” later this year.
Last month, Amazon received a reprieve from the FCC, which granted a request to waive its requirement to deploy 1,600 first-generation satellites by July 30. The company still needs to launch all 3,232 of its planned satellite constellations by July 2029.
Amazon’s D2D network will compete with SpaceX’s fledgling service called Starlink Mobile. SpaceX has acquired radio spectrum licenses from EchoStar to support its network and provides direct cell-to-cell service via: T-Mobile in the usa
