Amazon has a plan for bringing internet service to everyone, including those in “rural and hard-to-reach areas. It’s called Project Kuniper, which involves thousands of satellites working together in low-Earth orbit.
The company has taken its first steps by asking the FCC whether it can put 3,236 of these into space. Approval seems likely, being that SpaceX has already managed a similar feat with its own Starlink satellites. Elon Musk’s company has the same goal of improving broadband access over the globe.
In its FCC filing, Amazon said it would help serve U.S. communities “by offering fixed broadband communications services to rural and hard-to-reach areas.” The Kuiper System will help mobile network operators to expand wireless services, Amazon said in its application. It also offered the prospect of “high-throughput mobile broadband connectivity services for aircraft, maritime vessels and land vehicles.”