Author: Jon Brodkin

FCC Allows Satellite Companies to Apply for Rural Broadband Funding as 'Low-Latency' Providers
The Federal Communications Commission has reversed course on whether to let SpaceX and other satellite providers apply for rural-broadband funding as low-latency providers. But Chairman Ajit Pai said companies like SpaceX will have to prove they can offer low latencies, as the FCC does not plan to “fund untested technologies.” Pai’s original proposal classified SpaceX and...
Connectivity
Communication network around Earth. Photo: NASA, Via Satellite
Amazon Asks FCC for Launch Permission
Amazon is seeking government permission to launch 3,236 broadband satellites that would cover nearly all of the United States and much of the rest of the world. Amazon subsidiary Kuiper Systems filed its application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday last week, saying it intends to cover all of the US except most...
Connectivity
Amazon Plans to Launch 3,236 LEO Satellites
Amazon is joining the race to provide broadband internet access around the globe via thousands of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), newly uncovered filings show. The effort, code-named Project Kuiper, follows up on last September’s mysterious reports that Amazon was planning a “big, audacious space project” involving satellites and space-based systems. The Seattle-based company...
Connectivity
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Photo: Vince Lim/Via Satellite