Two of the richest men on the planet are vying for the support of U.S. federal regulators for a massive satellite Internet project their companies are developing.
Elon Musk, chief executive of U.S. space exploration technology company SpaceX, took the battle to the Twitter platform on the 26th of this month. His company is trying to convince officials at the Federal Communications Commission to agree to allow the company to deploy some of its Starlink satellites to lower altitudes than previously planned or authorized.
Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com, meanwhile, is one of the companies opposing the SpaceX request on the grounds that the adjustment plan would interfere with other satellite operations.
Musk tweeted, “It’s not in anyone’s best interest to have to make today’s Starlink system not work for the sake of an Amazon satellite system that is at least years away from being operational.”
And Amazon responded to Musk’s comments in a statement sent to U.S. media outlet CNBC, saying, “The facts are simple …… Our system design for Project Kuiper was done on the basis of avoiding interference with Starlink was done on the basis that SpaceX now wants to change the original system design of Starlink.”
An Amazon spokesperson said the changes would not only create a more dangerous environment in space that could lead to collisions, but would also increase radio interference for users. Regardless of what SpaceX tweeted, the changes the company is proposing would harm competition among satellite systems. Of course, it’s clearly in SpaceX’s best interest to nip its competitors in the bud if it can. But it’s certainly not in the public interest.
“Project Starlink is a satellite project proposed by SpaceX to create an interconnected network of nearly 12,000 satellites designed to provide high-speed Internet around the world.
To date, SpaceX has more than 1,000 satellites in orbit and launched a public test program last October.
Its initial service is priced at $99 per month, in addition to an upfront investment of $499 to order Starlink equipment, including user terminals and wireless routers (Wi-Fi) to connect to the satellites.
Meanwhile, Amazon is also building a global satellite broadband service called “Kuiper” (Kuiper), which plans to launch 3,236 Internet satellites in near-Earth orbit, a satellite system that can compete with the Starlink system. However, Amazon.com is still in the early stages of manufacturing the antenna equipment needed to connect the network and has not yet begun launching satellites.
Last July, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission agreed to give Amazon’s Kuiper program a license for the project, and Amazon.com said it would invest more than $10 billion to build the project.
Late last week, SpaceX chief David Goldman met with officials from the FCC to discuss the company’s proposal to move some of the satellites in the Starlink program to lower orbits. Musk has since made the comments.
In his remarks to the FCC, Goldman emphasized that Amazon representatives have held 30 meetings to oppose SpaceX “but have not held any meetings to discuss their own system,” which he argued were held to “stifle competition “.
Amazon.com representatives met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai last December to discuss SpaceX’s request to modify its Starlink program.
Amazon asked the FCC to limit the altitude of SpaceX Starlink satellites to 580 kilometers or less in order for the regulator to “evaluate the detailed record of significant interference issues,” which Amazon believes would be a prelude to SpaceX modifying its program.
In a letter to the FCC, Amazon consultant Maria Dawson Schumann wrote: “SpaceX says it is able to operate its satellite systems at ranges of no more than 580 kilometers, but does not immediately explain why this is not valid.”
Both companies are building ambitious satellite network projects. Like Amazon, SpaceX says building the network will cost $10 billion or more.
But SpaceX’s leadership expects the Starlink project could realize as much as $30 billion or more annually through its rocket business.
Earlier this month, SpaceX expanded its testing program to include customers in the United Kingdom and Canada. The company also hopes to continue expanding its Starlink satellite business to the international level, with registrations completed in Austria, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, France, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain, according to public records.
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