Amazon to launch a Starlink rival with 5,000 satellites in orbit
Photo: Amazon aims to create a Starlink rival (Getty Images)
American company Amazon plans to deploy more than 5,000 satellites to provide mobile communications services worldwide and compete with Starlink, according to the Financial Times.
The tech giant has filed an official application with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The company hopes to secure approval and fully deploy the network by 2028.
Under the proposal, the new satellite system would provide voice services anywhere in the world, as well as messaging, high-speed data transmission, and access to emergency services.
The filing with the US regulator marks Amazon's first step into the satellite mobile communications market. The sector is currently dominated by SpaceX's Starlink service, owned by Elon Musk.
Earlier, billionaire Elon Musk said the Russian military had managed to obtain Starlink terminals through smuggling channels. According to him, Russian access to the service was later restricted through the creation of a "whitelist" system.
Musk also said that SpaceX had not sold terminals to Russian occupying forces.
Meanwhile, a second batch of Russia's Rassvet satellites, intended as a domestic alternative to Starlink, has already been launched into orbit.
The satellites have not yet taken their positions within the orbital constellation, but that could happen in the near future.
