UK may allow Amazon’s Starlink rival to offer broadband services

British telecommunications regulator Ofcom is considering whether to grant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) a non-geostationary satellite orbit licence for its Kuiper satellite system.

Granting of this NGSO network licence, which Amazon subsidiary Amazon Kuiper Services Europe SARL filed in July, would allow the technology and e-commerce giant to deliver broadband services to UK customers from space using a constellation of satellites.

Amazon Kuiper is a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink system.

If approved, the licence will give Amazon the authority to connect the Kuiper system to existing ‘gateway earth stations’ to then deliver broadband to retail and wholesale customers in the UK.

Few companies currently have NGSO network licences in the UK. Alongside Starlink, Mangata, Telesat, Rivada, NSLComm and Network Access Associates Ltd (a subsidiary of Eutelsat OneWeb) are listed as licensees on Ofcom’s database.

An additional NGSO gateway licence, which Amazon has not applied for, would be required if Amazon wanted to build its own gateway earth stations.

Only three licensees have established gateway earth stations in the UK. Starlink has five, situated in Fawley, Morn Hill, Wherstead, Woodwalton and the Isle of Man, while Arqiva and Goonhilly have one each.

They all currently facilitate Starlink communications.

Amazon has yet to deploy any of its Kuiper satellites into orbit. It plans to launch the first of around 3,000 satellites by the end of 2024.

The company intends to deploy half of these satellites by July 2026.

Ofcom has opened a consultation into the licence, with responses being gathered until 4 October. Bloomberg