Amazon’s ambitious Project Kuiper, designed to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink, has successfully passed a critical test, signaling its readiness for a planned launch in 2024. Project Kuiper involves deploying over 3,000 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to create a global mesh network for high-speed internet. The project recently achieved a significant milestone by validating the optical inter-satellite link (OISL) technology, utilizing infrared lasers to facilitate data transmission between satellites. During testing, two prototype satellites demonstrated a stable connection speed of 100 gigabits per second.
Similar to Starlink, Project Kuiper aims to revolutionize internet access by leveraging satellite technology. Amazon’s OISL technology is expected to enable the entire constellation of satellites to form a seamless mesh network, allowing efficient data transmission throughout. While traditional terrestrial optical fiber cables power high-speed internet, Project Kuiper’s space-based approach offers a 30% faster data transmission speed.
Overcoming challenges associated with maintaining OISL links in LEO, where satellites are constantly moving at high speeds over long distances, Amazon claims that its optics and control systems have successfully addressed these obstacles. The company now plans to launch customer pilots by mid-2024, with the goal of offering speeds of up to 400 megabits per second for most consumers by 2029. This would be approximately double the average broadband speed in the United States, according to Speedtest. Additionally, some users may have access to speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second, although the actual performance in real-world scenarios remains to be seen.
