Amazon is reportedly working on launching its satellite-based broadband internet service Project Kuiper in India. The company has started applying for licenses from various government departments before it can provide broadband services in the country. Amazon’s Kuiper Systems will rely on 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to provide low-latency and fast broadband services to increase network access, including in rural areas.
economic times Report Amazon has applied to India’s National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) to get regulatory approval to launch satellite services in India. The Kuiper plan also requires a Global Mobile Personal Satellite Service Communications (GMPCS) license from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide satellite-based network services in the country.
According to reports, Amazon will offer network access speeds of up to 1Gbps, and “affordable broadband” will be available across the country, including in India’s “unserved and underserved communities” as well as rural and remote areas.
According to the company’s website, Project Kuiper is designed to Provide network access Through 3,236 LEO satellites, half of them are expected to be launched into space by 2026. The introduction of broadband internet services in the country may also help the company expand use of its Amazon e-commerce platform and services such as Prime Video.
It is worth noting that Amazon is not the first company to try to launch satellite Internet services in India. OneWeb and Jio Satellite have received GMPCS licenses from the government, while Musk-led Starlink, which has about 5,000 LEO satellites, has yet to receive approval. Gadgets 360 reported in January 2022 that Starlink was offering refunds to customers who “subscribed” satellite internet services from the company.
Amazon did not disclose how much Indian customers would have to pay to access the Internet through Project Kuiper. We expect to hear more about pricing and availability and system requirements for the satellite-based internet connectivity service by the end of 2024, when the service is expected to be available to customers around the world.
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