Amazon's Kuiper secures license to take on Starlink in the UK

Everybody is going to play nice, OK?

Telecom watchdog Ofcom has granted a license application from Amazon Kuiper Services Europe for satellite connectivity in the UK.

The license will allow Kuiper to operate user terminals in the Ka-band. The plan is to let homes, businesses, and public sector organizations use the Kuiper satellite constellation once it finally launches.

So far, Amazon Kuiper Services Europe has launched two test satellites for the constellation. The initial design calls for 3,232 satellites, with production satellites scheduled to launch in 2025, using rockets from Blue Origin, Arianespace, United Launch Alliance, and even SpaceX.

In granting the license, Ofcom reckoned there would be no issue with Kuiper coexisting with in-service or planned non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite systems operating in the Ka-band. Nor did it see any material risk to competition.

That said, several would-be competitors did raise objections, mainly around coexistence. Ofcom said: "We note that larger NGSO systems such as Kuiper's do not necessarily increase the risk of interference or inline events; it could also mean a greater choice of satellites to connect to, making coexistence more rather than less likely."

And so Ofcom has issued the license using Ka-band frequencies of 27.5-27.9405 GHz, 28.4545-28.9485 GHz, and 29.5-30 GHz, subject to payment of the license fee.

In terms of performance, Amazon says its ultra-compact terminal will go up to 100 Mbps, its standard model 400 Mbps, and the largest model – aimed at public sector or commercial enterprises – will deliver up to 1 Gbps.

Kuiper will be going up against SpaceX's Starlink, which has a lengthy head start. Starlink began public beta testing of its service in 2020 and has since been rolling out worldwide.

Amazon has yet to put a price on its service, although it is unlikely to vary much from Starlink, which charges US residential customers $120 per month, with $349 required for the hardware. Prices vary across the country, and Starlink reports typical download speeds for its residential plan as 30-150 Mbps.

Other Kuiper competitors include OneWeb, in which the UK government invested with an eye to bringing fast broadband to underserved areas of the country. ®

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