Amazon said it completed testing its prototype antenna for its Kuiper customer terminal, a critical part of its Kuiper System which will deliver broadband through a constellation of 3,236 low Earth orbit satellites. The antenna passed all corresponding tests for speed and latency, offering maximum throughput of up to 400 Mbps, and streaming 4K-quality video from a geostationary satellite at an altitude approximately 50 times farther from Earth than where Project Kuiper satellites will be deployed.
Amazon said its engineers tested the antenna in multiple environments to ensure it will meet customer standards for speed and performance. The customer terminal will connect unserved and underserved communities around the US and other areas of the world.
The Ka-band phased array antenna's performance will continue to improve in future versions, the company said. This development is a critical part of the Kuiper System, and is one of many components being designed and tested at the company's new R&D facility in Redmond, Washington.
Amazon’s counter to SpaceX Starlink
Amazon received the approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy and operate a constellation of 3,236 satellites as part of its Project Kuiper at the end of July. Its Kuiper satellites will be used to provide reliable and affordable broadband connectivity to rural and hard-to-reach areas in the US. The low earth orbit satellite constellation will also serve other areas of the world, operating at altitudes of 370-390 miles, or 590-630 km.
Amazon has to launch and operate 50 percent of its licensed satellites by 30 July 2026. Amazon would have to launch the rest of the licensed satellites by 30 July 2029. Amazon plans to offer broadband to customers after the launch of the system's first 578 satellites.
Rival satellite internet service Starlink started inviting people in the US to join its public beta test at the end of October.
