Amazon reveals new ‘space internet’ will bring ultra-fast 1Gbps internet to 500 million homes and promises 2024 launch
AMAZON has revealed its new home internet service will read hundreds of millions of people.
The space internet, which relies on satellites and is similar to Elon Musk's Starlink enterprise offering, is expected to launch in 2024.
Amazon received FCC approval for its new service earlier this year.
That means it can start testing up to 1,000 of its satellite dishes.
These prototypes have been set up around the US.
Amazon will be launching satellites this year to get the testing started.
CEO of the tech giant Andy Jassy has just revealed more about the plans.
He updated shareholders about the internet service in a recent letter.
“In October, we hit a major milestone in our journey to commercialize Project Kuiper when we launched two end-to-end prototype satellites into space, and successfully validated all key systems and sub-systems—rare in an initial launch like this.
"Kuiper is our low Earth orbit satellite initiative that aims to provide broadband connectivity to the 400-500 million households who don’t have it today (as well as governments and enterprises seeking better connectivity and performance in more remote areas), and is a very large revenue opportunity for Amazon.
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"We’re on track to launch our first production satellites in 2024.
"We’ve still got a long way to go, but are encouraged by our progress," Jassy told shareholders.
The space internet is designed to test both businesses and homes.
It can offer speeds up to 1 Gbps, which is equivalent to 1,000 megabits.
This speed would be ideal for large businesses but individual customers could settle for a slower speed.
The monthly cost of Amazon's new internet service is currently unknown.
Amazon reportedly wants to be cheaper than Starlink, according to Cord Cutter News.
WHAT IS STARLINK?
Starlink is an internet service provider and billionaire Elon Musk is the CEO of the company.
Muks has already sent over 5,000 Starlink satellites into space using his SpaceX rockets.
The first Starlink satellites were launched in 2019.
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According to its website, Starlink is priced at $110 per month.
It also has a $599 "one-time hardware cost."