Amazon challenges Starlink: 1 Gbps satellite connectivity for private homes arrives

In 2024, thanks to Project KuiperAmazon will officially become an Internet service provider, i.e. a residential connectivity service provider.

Obviously more like Starlink’s Elon Musk than Tim or Vodafone, as it will employ thousands of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites connected to a global network of antennas, fiber optics and hubs. The goal is to provide “fast and affordable broadband to communities around the world that are currently lacking or underserved by traditional Internet and communication options.” Think of condominiums, but also schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies and other companies that operate in places without reliable connectivity services.

The name of the initiative is due to Kuiper Belt, a region of the Solar System that exists beyond the 8 major planetsand to the late Dutch astronomer Gerard Kuiper, who is considered one of the fathers of modern planetary science.

Jeff Bezos’ company has been working on this project since 2018, but only recently unveiled the first components and the path that should allow the services to be sold by the end of next year. It should be remembered that only in July 2020 did the Federal Communications Commission of the United States grant Amazon the license to send and manage the satellites of the Kuiper project: the launch of first two prototypesof the 3236 expected in the decade, is expected in the coming months.

Project Kuiper, a mixed Earth-Space infrastructure

A connectivity service like the one designed by Amazon provides a ground infrastructure, a network of satellites and customer terminals, which are nothing more than small antennas with additional hardware. On the ground, large gateway antennas will be set up, capable of sending and receiving customer data to and from the satellites, and telemetry, tracking and control antennas to keep the satellites properly operational. After that the antennas-gateways they will be connected to traditional fiber networks to ensure access to the Internet, public cloud or private networks.

The satellites, on the other hand, will operate in low earth orbit, therefore in that area of ​​space which extends up to 2,000 kilometers above the earth. Project Kuiper satellites they will orbit between 590 and 630 kilometers, therefore at an adequate distance to ensure effectiveness even with “high definition video calls, games and streaming”, as pointed out by Amazon. They will take care of transmitting the data traffic to and from the gateway antennas and customers, who will have terminals, practically compact systems with antennas and dedicated hardware and integrated.

Antennas for different needs and services: from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps

Just a few days ago, Amazon showed for the first time its all-in-one rooftop antennas for residential and business customers. The standard version looks like a very small table with an articulated support: it has a surface of just under 28 square centimeters, a thickness of 2.5 cm and a weight of 2.2 kg (excluding bracket). A tiny antenna, if you compare it with traditional satellite dishes and Starlink’s standard ones, but capable of ensuring a theoretical maximum download speed of 400 Mbps. Production cost should be around $400 per unit.

The smallest model has a surface area of ​​17 square centimeters and boasts a weight of just 1 kg and should be able to offer up to 100Mbps download. It is assumed that it could be ideal not only for residential customers, but also for public bodies and companies, perhaps in mobility applications and for the so-called Internet of Things. Finally the most powerful model: it has a area of ​​more than 3.5 square meters and a maximum performance of 1 Gbps.

All models are based on a processor developed by Amazon which is called Prometheus, like the titan who in Greek mythology stole fire from the gods to give it to men: a symbol of progress, in short. It promises to combine the processing power of a 5G modem, the capacity of a radio cell capable of simultaneously handling the traffic of thousands of users and that of a microwave backhaul antenna which supports point-to-point connections between the core and peripheral networks.

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Amazon will produce 4 satellites per day

The company has confirmed that it has signed contracts with several commercial launch providers, such as Arianespace, Blue Origin (which is from Bezos) and United Launch Alliance, to send the satellites included in the project into space. For now we are talking about 92 launches of heavy lift rockets. An important detail is that Project Kuiper is still an Amazon initiative, “part of the same Devices and Services division responsible for the development of Kindle, Echo, Fire TV and other technological devices”: one of the key components of satellite technology dedicated to connectivity is precisely in the design and production of satellites and terminals.

Currently Project Kuiper is based in one state-of-the-art research and development facility near Redmondin the US state of Washington. Overall, the international work team includes a thousand engineers, programmers and support personnel from different sectors: from aerospace to wireless networking. The current headquarters is also responsible for producing the prototypes, but by the end of 2023 the first production line at a new facility in the nearby Kirkland area, which will churn out up to 4 satellites a day.

Launches will begin in the first half of 2024 and towards the end of the year services will be activated in some areas. Prices have not yet been communicated, but the intention is to keep them low and differentiate according to the type of customer and country. Today Starlink for the standard residential service charges 450 euros for a standard satellite kit (up to 100 Mbps) and a subscription of 50 euros per month, while Amazon probably wants to propose itself at a lower threshold.