The Federal Communications Commission has rejected Amazon’s request to launch half of its broadband satellite constellation by the end of July, a key regulatory reprieve that buys time for the tech giant to put more spacecraft into orbit.
Amazon won regulatory approval for the Amazon Leo network in July 2020. The FCC’s approval came with two deadlines. First, Amazon had to put half of its 3,232 satellites into orbit by July 30, 2026, in order to retain permission to operate the rest of the network. The regulator gave Amazon a July 30, 2029 deadline to have all of its first-generation satellites in orbit.
It has been known for some time that Amazon would not comply with the FCC’s request to release half of its satellites.-1616 spacecraft– until the end of next month. Amazon filed a petition with the FCC in January to extend the deadline to July 2028 or waive it altogether. The commission settled on the latter option, removing any time limit for the 50 percent placement phase but keeping the July 2029 deadline for the entire constellation.
It was refused
The FCC announced its decision Friday in a letter signed by Jay Schwarz, head of the FCC’s Space Bureau. The decision was expected. After all, Amazon is the only company with a realistic chance of launching a satellite broadband service to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink any time soon. The FCC acknowledged in the letter that competition in the broadband satellite sector is weak.
“The waiver serves the public interest by encouraging a second large broadband satellite constellation,” the FCC said. “Currently, only one operator, SpaceX, provides broadband Internet to American consumers from low Earth orbit. Amazon Leo’s service promises to be “groundbreaking” in terms of both quality of service and affordability for consumers. Amazon Leo has invested significant resources to further fulfill its obligations, including more than $10 billion to deploy the system’s physical structures and investment opportunities.”
Public interest considerations and Amazon’s multibillion-dollar investment in Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, are among the “special circumstances” cited by the FCC to override this summer’s deadline.
