The Federal Communications Commission has waived a requirement that Amazon launch half of its satellite broadband constellation by the end of July, a key regulatory relief that gives the tech giant time to put more spacecraft into orbit.
Amazon gained regulatory approval for the Amazon Leo network in July 2020. The FCC authorization came with two deadlines. First, Amazon had to launch half of its 3,232 satellites by July 30, 2026 to maintain authorization to launch the rest of the network. The regulator gave Amazon a deadline of July 30, 2029 to have all of its first-generation satellites in orbit.
It has been evident for some time that Amazon would not meet the FCC’s requirement to launch half of its satellites.—1,616 spaceships—at the end of next month. Amazon filed a request in January asking the FCC to extend the deadline until July 2028 or waive it entirely. The commission decided on the latter option, removing any time limit for the 50 percent deployment milestone but maintaining the July 2029 deadline for the entire constellation.
Resignation granted
The FCC made its decision public in a letter Friday signed by Jay Schwarz, head of the FCC’s Office of Space. The ruling was expected. After all, Amazon is the only company with a realistic chance of launching a satellite broadband service to directly compete with SpaceX’s Starlink anytime soon. The FCC acknowledged in the letter the lack of competition in the satellite broadband sector.
“The waiver serves the public interest by promoting a second large satellite broadband constellation,” the FCC said. “At this time, only one operator, SpaceX, provides broadband to U.S. consumers from low-Earth orbit. Amazon Leo’s service promises to be ‘game-changing,’ both in quality of service and affordability for consumers. Amazon Leo has invested significant resources to deliver on its commitments, including more than $10 billion to deploy the system along with investments in physical infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities.”
Consideration of the public interest and Amazon’s multibillion-dollar investment in Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, are among the “special circumstances” the FCC cited in eliminating this summer’s deadline.
