As a result, more and more companies are turning to satellites as opposed to digging into the ground and laying new cables.

SpaceX's Starlink is getting a lot of attention, but it is not the only player in the growing satellite Internet market: both HughesNet and Viasat offer satellite Internet services, and a new company is preparing to enter the market: Amazon's Project Kuiper.

Established in 2019, Kuiper Systems LLC is a subsidiary of Amazon and is better known by its project name. Named after the icy Kuiper Belt extending from Neptune's orbit, the Project Kuiper constellation will function similarly to Starlink once all satellites reach low Earth orbit.

Like Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns a rocket company called Blue Origin. It should be noted, though, that Project Kuiper is not under Blue Origin, but is part of Amazon's Devices and Services division, which is responsible for Kindle, Echo, Fire TV, eero, and Ring products.

The project itself is still in its infancy, but this is all you need to know about Project Kuiper, including the price of satellite Internet service once it becomes available.

Amazon first began research and development of Project Kuiper in 2018. Then in 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted the company a license to begin deploying and operating its own satellites.

Project Kuiper is based in a state-of-the-art facility in Redmond, Washington, where satellites, ground terminals, computer chips, and other hardware needed for the project are being developed. More than 1,000 engineers, programmers, and support personnel are currently working on the project, not only in Redmond, but also in Amazon labs in New York, Austin, Denver, San Diego, and Washington, DC.

Project Kuiper has three main parts: ground infrastructure, satellites, and customer terminals. Amazon's ground infrastructure consists of a gateway antenna that securely transmits and receives customer data to and from the satellite. Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) antennas also ensure that the satellites are operating properly.

Project Kuiper's satellites operate in low Earth orbit (LEO) and relay data between the gateway antenna and the customer. Customer terminals (satellite antennas) are what Amazon's customers ultimately use to receive broadband service. These terminals combine the antenna and processor into one compact system that is expected to be more affordable and easier to ship to customers.

When completed, Project Kuiper's first satellite constellation will have 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit. The first production satellite is expected to be launched in the first half of 2023.

Last April, Amazon signed launch agreements with three different launch providers, including Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance. A total of 83 launches are planned over the next 10 years. However, under its license with the FCC, Amazon must have at least half of its 3,236 satellites deployed and operational by July 2026.

Amazon has yet to announce pricing details for Project Kuiper, but the company explains in its FAQ (opens in new tab) that it plans to make the service as affordable as possible. In fact, the company is applying the same approach to Project Kuiper as it has done in the past with other low-cost devices like the Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick. Amazon also stated that "service offerings may vary from country to country" in order to find "the right pricing and services for customers in each region."

As for availability, Amazon expects to launch its first mass-produced satellite in the first half of this year, so early customers will have access to satellite Internet service starting later this year.

Even though the satellites needed for Project Kuiper are not yet in orbit, Amazon recently released engineering models of three different customer terminals that will be used to connect to satellite Internet service.

The terminal pictured above features an ultra-compact design measuring 7 inches square. It weighs only one pound and offers speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps). As the smallest terminal in the Project Kuiper lineup, it will be offered to residential customers as well as government and business customers working on ground mobility and Internet of Things (IoT) projects.

Project Kuiper's terminal for medium-sized customers is less than 11 inches square and less than 1 inch thick. It weighs less than 5 pounds, excluding the mounting bracket, and can provide speeds of up to 400 Mbps. Amazon plans to produce standard customer terminals for less than $400 each, but they will cost more for customers.

Finally, there is Project Kuiper's largest and most powerful customer terminal. Designed with enterprises, government agencies, and telecommunications companies in mind, it will deliver speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

Just as important as Project Kuiper's customer terminals is Amazon's custom baseband chip. Codenamed "Prometheus," the chip combines the processing power of a 5G modem chip, cellular base station capabilities, and microwave backhaul antenna capability to support point-to-point connectivity. Amazon's Prometheus chip will also be used in satellite and ground gateway antennas to handle up to 1 terabit per second (Tbps) of traffic on each of Project Kuiper's satellites.

Based on the details provided in this blog post (opens in new tab) about Project Kuiper's various customer terminals, satellite Internet service speeds will likely be in the 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps range. However, as we have seen with Starlink's performance over the past few years, these speeds will likely vary depending on the number of satellites currently deployed and their location relative to customer terminals. More will be known once Amazon deploys satellites in orbit and reports initial test results.

Amazon is one of the world's tech giants for a reason, and the company has shown that it can quickly enter and even dominate new markets. Even if you are only familiar with Amazon's online store, thanks to its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company is an integral part of every site and service you use every day.

It may take time, but once Amazon commits all its resources to Project Kuiper, Starlink as well as HughesNet and Viasat will be serious contenders. We will update this page as we learn more about Amazon's new satellite Internet service, so stay tuned to this page for updates on Project Kuiper.