Amazon's satellite internet service to rival Musk's Starlink
Amazon has shared information on its new low-cost customer terminals of Project Kuiper. It aims to bring fast and affordable broadband to customers and communities around the world, competing with Elon Musk's Starlink.
The company already shared its standard customer terminal antenna design back in 2020. Now, the devices have been officially announced. Amazon showcased three different antennas in the latest blog post. Customers must install these outside antennas to be able to use Project Kuiper's internet, even though it is still not accessible right now. Amazon says that it aims to serve tens of millions of customers, which is why the engineers have been trying to build a model that costs less than $500; they hit that milestone in 2020.
The standard model measures less than 11 inches squared and 1 inch thick. It is pretty light, with less than 5 pounds, excluding its mounting bracket. It will deliver up to 400Mbps, and the company expects to produce the standard terminal for less than $400 each.
Amazon plans to launch a smaller model with a 7-inch square design, weighing only 1 pound. The smallest terminal supports up to 100Mbps, but the most important feature is it will be easy to carry around and, in a way, work like a portable router. It is obviously going to cost less than the other two.
Lastly, the largest terminal measures 19 inches by 30 inches. It is designed for enterprises, government, and telecommunications applications, delivering speeds up to 1Gbps.
"Our goal with Project Kuiper is not just to connect unserved and underserved communities but also to delight them with the quality, reliability, and value of their service. From day one, every technology and business decision we've made has centered on what will deliver the best experience for different customers around the world, and our range of customer terminals reflects those choices," said Rajeev Badyal, Amazon's vice president of technology for Project Kuiper.
What is Project Kuiper?
Project Kuiper is the "Amazon version" of Elon Musk's Starlink. It will bring faster internet connection directly from the company's satellites placed across Earth orbit.
"Project Kuiper is Amazon's initiative to provide fast, affordable broadband to communities around the world that are currently unserved or underserved by traditional internet and communications options. To achieve this goal, Amazon will deploy thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) linked to a global network of antennas, fiber, and internet connection points on the ground," says the company.
Amazon aims to launch its first two prototypes in 2023 and start mass production before the year ends. All terminals are powered by Amazon's "Prometheus" chip.
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Some countries (Africa & Asia) still stay on 1 to 10 mbps max, pre-historic internet speeds. Capitalism always in his best.
This is exactly what we need… more space junk controlled by a single private entity because we all know how well that went with Musk. What happens when Bezos wants to take his ball and go home too?
It also sounds like this thing has limited headroom up to 1gbps for something that would be limited to businesses and or someone foolish enough to put such a monstrosity on their roof… not very good at all.