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Amazon has secured approval to acquire land in New Zealand for its Project Kuiper, a satellite-based internet venture that will launch by 2025 and compete with Starlink.
Bloomberg reports that Amazon has received approval to acquire a small plot of land in New Zealand for its satellite-based internet project.
On August 29, the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) in Wellington confirmed that Amazon intends to set up and manage telecommunications equipment on a 500-square-meter site. The July approval covers a 500-square-meter plot at a location that has not been disclosed.
https://t.co/JHZxKhN4Fo Inc has won approval to buy a small piece of land in New Zealand as part of its project to deliver internet from space https://t.co/GUa45yXEEo
— Bloomberg (@business) August 29, 2024
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is set to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink by offering high-speed internet through a network of over 3,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. The first satellites are expected to launch by the end of 2024, with customer testing beginning in 2025 and commercial services following later that year.
According to the OIO, Amazon Kuiper New Zealand has been created to manage the local operations for this project. The telecommunications equipment installed at the site will offer high-speed internet to users in New Zealand.
What Is Known About the Project Kuiper
Launched in 2018, Project Kuiper seeks to deliver high-speed, affordable internet to underserved regions. The service targets users like homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses. To achieve this, Amazon will deploy thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and connect them to a worldwide network of antennas, fiber, and internet hubs. The project will have over half of its LEO satellite constellation deployed by mid-2026.
Amazon has secured agreements for 77 heavy-lift satellite launches with Arianespace, ULA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin to deploy the Project Kuiper satellites. The company also emphasized that investments in Project Kuiper will generate skilled jobs and support thousands of suppliers across 49 U.S. states and 13 European countries.
Satellite Internet Environment Market
Several companies, including SpaceX (Starlink), Viasat, HughesNet, Telesat, and the recently merged SES and Intelsat, are developing low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband systems to reach the 40% of people globally who still lack reliable internet access. LEO technology is designed to complement, not replace, fiber-optic networks. Fiber remains crucial for connecting LEO ground stations to internet exchanges, which is necessary for providing high-speed and low-latency service.
Despite their benefits, LEO satellites face challenges. They offer limited bandwidth, fewer simultaneous connections, and high manufacturing costs. Additionally, they are sensitive to weather and solar interference. Although LEO satellites have lower latency than traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites, their coverage area is more restricted.
