The Federal Communications Commission has waived a requirement for Amazon to launch half of its satellite broadband constellation by the end of July, a major regulatory relief that gives the tech giant time to get more of its spacecraft into orbit.
Amazon received regulatory approval for the Amazon LEO Network in July 2020. The FCC’s authorization came with two deadlines. First, Amazon had to launch half of its 3,232 satellites by July 30, 2026, to retain authorization to launch the rest of the network. The regulator gave Amazon a deadline of July 30, 2029, to put all its first-generation satellites into orbit.
It has been clear for some time that Amazon will not meet the FCC’s requirement to launch half of its satellites—1,616 spacecraft-By the end of next month. Amazon filed an application in January requesting the FCC to extend the deadline to July 2028 or waive it entirely. The Commission decided on the latter option, removing any deadline for the 50 percent deployment milestone, but retaining the July 2029 deadline for the entire group.
exempted
The FCC made its decision public Friday in a letter signed by Jay Schwarz, head of the FCC Space Bureau. The decision was expected. After all, Amazon is the only company that has a real chance of launching a satellite broadband service to compete directly with SpaceX’s Starlink any time soon. The FCC acknowledged in the letter the sparse competition in the satellite broadband sector.
The FCC said, “The exemption serves the public interest by encouraging a second large satellite broadband constellation.” “At this time, only one operator, SpaceX, is providing broadband from low-Earth orbit to US consumers. Amazon LEO’s service promises to be ‘unprecedented’ in both service quality and affordability for consumers. Amazon LEO has invested significant resources to meet its commitments, including investments in physical infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities, as well as more than $10 billion to deploy the system.”
Public interest considerations and Amazon’s billion-dollar investment in Amazon LEO, formerly known as Project Kuiper, are among the “special circumstances” cited by the FCC to lift this summer’s deadline.
<a href