Last Updated on August 3, 2020
We all know the man behind Amazon, Jeff Bezos. The man’s limit and power of the brain are limitless. Fortunately, he is as curious as Elon Musk when it comes to space. SpaceX has already announced it’s of Starlink project with the ambition to provide high-speed broadband internet through space. Elon Musk CEO of SpaceX also claims it to be available at every corner of the globe. And now Jeff Bezos has himself involved in this space internet race. His company has even already announced the project as “Amazon’s Project Kuiper” last spring. Other giant companies like Softbank, Virgin, Google, Facebook are also in this audacious race.
Why the name “Project Kuiper”?
The name ‘Kuiper’ has a lot to do with our solar system and it defines Jeff’s curiosity regarding space. The Kuiper belt is nothing but a circumstantial disc that surrounds our solar system. It is composed mainly of methane, ammonia, and water. The name Kuiper was named after Dutch-American Astronomer Gerard Kuiper. 
Now let’s amuse our Earth as the solar system and Satellite surrounding the Earth as the Kuiper Belt. Now the name for the project hears sounds logical, doesn’t it?
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The Mega Amazon’s Project Kuiper Plan
The plan is straight, simple and familiar to SpaceX’s Starlink Project. They will deploy and operate a total of 3,236 satellites making a constellation around the Earth for broadband service from space. This has already been approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Amazon is set to invest more than 10 Billion U.S Dollars in this project. Not just money but the effort, manpower, and resources along with sacrifices and commitment will also play a huge role.
They will implement the whole project in several phases. First, they will place 784 satellites at the lowest altitude of 590 kilometers. Then another they will implement 1,296 satellites at the next-highest altitude of 610 kilometers. Other remaining 1,156 will be detonated at the highest altitude of 630 kilometers orbit above the earth.
Amazon previously announced its new cloud business ‘AWS’ which is said to play the key role for the ground-to-space network establishment. A wise move from a wise man as always. The company has also claimed that their constellation of satellites will never disturb other satellites already present. Read the news about Nepal’s own satellite launch.
Even if the FCC has approved, they will have to prove themselves to keep the license valid. FCC wants Amazon to launch half of the satellites by 2026 and remaining by 2029. Only then the company will be allowed to keep the license. They will also have to submit a finalized plan including satellite design and how it will work which the company is still working on.
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Ambition Behind Amazon’s Project Kuiper Plan
Amazon aims to provide high-speed broadband internet with the lowest latency possible, using the satellite constellation. It will be accessible to almost 95% percent of the population on Earth. It will also fill the void gap that occurs in rural areas in terms of education, digitization, and communication. Jeff Bezos doesn’t only plan to provide internet service but wants to own it all.
If Bezos gets everyone accesses to the internet then he would just double the total addressable market for e-commerce, cloud business, internet, and any other business Amazon wants to do. He is doing both good work and business here.
This will also demonstrate his Blue Origin company’s capabilities when it comes to space. The company has announced that Project Kuiper will be designed and tested in its new research and development facility. This facility is opening at Redmond, Washington.
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Our Honest Verdict
Completion of this project will not just solve internet and communication problems in rural areas as a direct service but will also provide backhaul solutions for wireless carriers extending LTE and 5G service to almost every region.
The cost of the internet will be cheaper and affordable for all, reducing the digital divide in the world. If this project becomes a reality then it will be a win-win situation for both Jeff Bezos and common people. Source: Amazon’s Offical Blog
