Amazon’s broadband-by-satellite service, Project Kuiper, started launching its satellites in April. But a study by Analysys Mason says that even though only 153 Kuipers have been launched (out of a planned total of 3,232) the embryonic system is already topping Eutelsat’s OneWeb and has surpassed the 3.6 terabits/second that Eutelsat’s LEO system offers.

Project Kuiper is intending to compete vigorously with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Starlink has more than 8,500 satellites in orbit.

Kuiper plans to start broadband services to five key target markets by the end of March 2026. It should have more than 200 satellites in orbit this year. Amazon works with commercial launch providers to send Project Kuiper satellites into space. It has ordered more than 80 launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ULA to deploy our initial satellite constellation. Together, these agreements represent the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history.

Kuiper is helped by orbiting its satellites at a higher altitude than Starlink and thus covering a larger area of the Eart below. The downside is that this would mean a larger number of potential clients but also an estimated 40 per cent loss in signal power because of the higher orbital positions. To counteract reduced signal strength, Kuiper is using slightly larger antennas. Kuiper’s satellites orbit between 590 and 630 kms. Starlinks orbit at 550 kms.

Kuiper says that its standard customer terminal will deliver downlink speeds up to 400 megabits per second (Mb/s); Its largest model, which is intended for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications, delivers up to 1 gigabit per second (Gb/s); and its low-cost ultra-compact model delivers up to 100 Mb/s.

OneWeb’s satellites orbit at about 1,200 kms although are not targeting consumers directly but focus on business and commercial clients as well as government users and Maritime and aircraft deployments.

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Categories: Blogs, Broadband, Inside Satellite, Satellite

Tags: Amazon, Analysys Mason, OneWeb, Project Kuiper, satellite