2023-12-15 09:30:10
The arrival of Starlink was a revolution in the field of connectivity. Thanks to its constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, the service offered by SpaceX provides a good internet connection, with low latency, in places that are not covered by traditional operators. But soon, SpaceX will face competition from an internet giant: Amazon.
The e-commerce leader has been working on its Kuiper project for years, which aims to offer a competing offer to Starlink. And at the end of the year, this project is making enormous progress. And now, Amazon estimates that it might begin operations on the Kuiper project as early as the first half of 2024.
Amazon completes its tests
In October, Amazon launched two prototype satellites to test the system it designed to transmit data. In November, it announced the successful testing of all systems and subsystems on board its satellites. And this week, Amazon mentions the successful testing of an essential component, which it had kept secret until now: the optical link between the satellites.
In its new publication, Amazon explains that its KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 prototypes carry optical communication elements. Using this technology, Amazon managed to maintain a speed of 100 Gbps over a distance of 1,000 kilometers during the testing phase.
An essential technology to compete with Starlink
This optical transmission between satellites is important for the project, to the extent that it wants to create a mesh network of satellites to transmit data.
“Thanks to inter-satellite optical links across our satellite constellation, Project Kuiper will effectively function as a mesh network in space”said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology at Project Kuiper. “This system is designed entirely in-house to optimize speed, cost and reliability, and the entire architecture has worked flawlessly from the start.”
Each satellite of the Kuiper project will have several optical transmission models, which use infrared lasers.
The first customers in 2024
Currently, Amazon is already producing its first satellites. The deployment of these will begin in the first half of 2024. The company also expects to have enough satellites in orbit to serve the first customers, from the second half of 2024. To launch its satellites, Amazon relies on several partners, including its competitor SpaceX.
Note that, for its part, Starlink is already thinking regarding the next revolution: a direct connection between its satellites and its users’ smartphones. In 2024, this offer will allow the sending of SMS. And in 2025, it will support calls and mobile data. In addition, the technology does not require any modification to the user’s smartphone, since it will simulate 4G networks.
- Amazon wants to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service with the Kuiper project
- It recently launched two prototypes to validate its technologies
- After successful testing, the internet giant is preparing launches and the start of operations in 2024
- By the second half of 2024, Amazon might have enough satellites in orbit to serve its first customers
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