Amazon's Answer To SpaceX Starlink Delivers 400Mbps In Prototype Phase (arstechnica.com) 77
Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares this report from Ars Technica:
Amazon's competitor to SpaceX Starlink is moving through the prototype-development phase, with the company announcing yesterday that it has "completed initial development on the antenna for our low-cost customer terminal." Amazon said its "Ka-band phased-array antenna is based on a new architecture capable of delivering high-speed, low-latency broadband in a form factor that is smaller and lighter than legacy antenna designs" and the "prototype is already delivering speeds up to 400Mbps." Performance will get better in future versions, Amazon said.
Amazon in July received Federal Communications Commission approval to launch 3,236 low-Earth orbit satellites. The company says it plans to invest over $10 billion in its satellite-broadband division, which it calls Project Kuiper... Amazon didn't provide any updates on when Kuiper will be ready for customers. FCC rules give Amazon six years to launch and operate 50 percent of its licensed satellites, with a deadline date of July 30, 2026. Amazon would have to launch the rest of the licensed satellites by July 30, 2029. Amazon previously said it plans to offer broadband to customers "once the first 578 satellites are launched."
"Custom-built antenna architecture will allow Amazon to deliver a small, affordable customer terminal to connect unserved and underserved communities around the world," explains Amazon's announcement.
Amazon in July received Federal Communications Commission approval to launch 3,236 low-Earth orbit satellites. The company says it plans to invest over $10 billion in its satellite-broadband division, which it calls Project Kuiper... Amazon didn't provide any updates on when Kuiper will be ready for customers. FCC rules give Amazon six years to launch and operate 50 percent of its licensed satellites, with a deadline date of July 30, 2026. Amazon would have to launch the rest of the licensed satellites by July 30, 2029. Amazon previously said it plans to offer broadband to customers "once the first 578 satellites are launched."
"Custom-built antenna architecture will allow Amazon to deliver a small, affordable customer terminal to connect unserved and underserved communities around the world," explains Amazon's announcement.
SpaceX (Score:2, Funny)
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I imagine Bezos wants to use it to bring down his launch costs.
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That's what New Gleen is for I guess.
One question that I have is how it compares to the starlink antenna? We know from beta testers that they get upwards to 150mbps, but I doubt that this is the antenna limit.
Re:SpaceX (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, that's just the thing. Comparing a single prototype terminal, e.g. with only one user and in ideal circumstances, with an (incomplete) operational network in the real world, is kind of a silly comparison.
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Yeah, that's just the thing. Comparing a single prototype terminal, e.g. with only one user and in ideal circumstances, with an (incomplete) operational network in the real world, is kind of a silly comparison.
Has SpaceX said what they expect the data rates to be when the system is fully operational?
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It's unclear. The official statement was that during the beta, users should expect between 50 and 150 Mbps, with faster speeds after the beta - although as of late November, the highest reported speed from a beta user was already 209 Mbps. Few in November were below 100 Mbps, and quite a few were over 150 Mbps, so the nominal expectations for the beta already seem to be obsolete. We'll have to see how high they go, but ultimately, all systems will be limited by the maximum bandwidth carried on bands that
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Re: SpaceX (Score:1)
...shouldn't New Glenn do at-least one orbital flight
They're likely modeling millions (or even billions) of flights on AWS; whether that'll be adequate will remain to be seen.
They can compete (Score:1)
As soon as they have more than a joke for a space/rocket launch company. Is SpaceX somehow required to launch their competitors' satellites?
Tomorrow's news: Amazon launches antitrust lawsuit against SpaceX for not rolling over dead and donating all their assets to Bezos.
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Steve Jobs was overrated as an inventor, too. They were really directors in development. They pick the promising projects and fund them. But money talks, to they get the credit.
Re: They can compete (Score:4, Insightful)
To be fair, picking which projects are promising and giving them to the right people, then picking the right results (the nuggets of genius in the chaff) and giving them (plus more money) to other people who can build a real product out of them, plus marketing that product... If it were easy, there would be a lot more Musks and Jobs. But there aren't, which is both fortunate and unfortunate.
Neither was an inventor, but both are (or were) geniuses in their own right.
Re: They can compete (Score:2)
Re:They can compete (Score:5, Informative)
Hard to believe, but people have been launching satellites for 70+ years now
It is hard to believe indeed -- especially since the first satellite ever was launched only 63 years ago!
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A shell fired from the surface would still be on a sub-orbital trajectory
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Depends on the size of the gun and the size of the projectile. 8^)
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Unless it has escape velocity above the atmosphere.
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Re:They can compete (Score:4, Insightful)
That's right, but welcome to 2020/21 where SpaceX costs much less to buy a launch from and still makes more money per flight than everybody else (including national providers) on Earth.
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Viasat - monthly price $30-$150 a month. Speed 12-100 Mbs. Data cap 12-300 GBs.
HughesNet - monthly price $59.99-$159.99. Speed 25 Mbs. Data cap 10-50 GBs.
I clearly would prefer Starlink.
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That's right, but welcome to 2020/21 where SpaceX costs much less to buy a launch from and still makes more money per flight than everybody else (including national providers) on Earth.
Are we sure that SpaceX flights are making money or are we just relying on Musk telling us they are making money?
Re: They can compete (Score:2)
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" The populate Mars thing seems like a vanity project. "
Wait until imports Mars-bars by the millions.
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"The Amazon.com web site is a mess in many ways."
The search engine can't even distinguish man's clothes from women's.
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The search engine can't even distinguish man's clothes from women's.
I'd be pleased if it could distinguish clothes from socket wrench sets...
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SpaceX probably WOULD be willing to launch Amazon's sats. And the retail price for a Falcon 9 launch will be way less then than what a New Glenn will cost Amazon to launch.
Starlink wouldn't be threatened by the competition since they get their launches at provider cost.
Only if they're doing it very wrong (Score:2)
> Starlink wouldn't be threatened by the competition since they get their launches at provider cost.
Only if the folks running SpaceX have no idea what they're doing, which I doubt.
You've probably heard that 50% of small businesses fail in their first five years. Which means, of course, that 50% make it.
What do businesses that fail tend to have in common, and what do new businesses that succeed tend to have in common? One major factor determining the success or failure of small businesses is whether the
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The Amazon internet (Score:2)
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Just askin' (Score:2)
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Found this tidbit:
"So far, SpaceX has demonstrated data throughput of 610 megabits per second in flight to the cockpit of a U.S. military C-12 twin-engine turboprop aircraft."
October 22, 2019 https://spacenews.com/spacex-p... [spacenews.com]
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throughput for sat connections is the wrong metric; well okay not 'wrong', but it's certainly not the most important one.
most (all?) of the rural US can already get pretty decent throughput via hughes/excede/viasat etc, but it comes with an almost unworkable amount of latency, ie 680ms or so under best case scenarios.
what makes starlink a game changer is that they are reporting ~30ms. if i were any of the legacy sat providers, i'd very, very concerned right now.
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what makes starlink a game changer is that they are reporting ~30ms.
I'm currently getting around 80 ms round trip on my Starlink in northern Idaho.
400Mbps (Score:3)
399Mbps of that will be irritating Amazon adverts for stuff you don't want.
Re: 400Mbps (Score:3)
You haven't discovered ad blockers yet, over in Mudtown, Elbonia?
Re: 400Mbps (Score:3)
Well, yes, but it is hard to train the pig to stick his head on front of the screen in the right place.
I'm sure Starlink had 1GB speeds... (Score:2)
...in isolated test environments. Starlink is getting just under 100MBs in real deployments from an actual orbiting constellation. Which for the isolated test sites that can barely get ANY internet, is fantastic.
Amazon has real sat ISP performance data at the same level as they have orbital rockets. That is, they don't.
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Amazon's Prototype Antenna (Score:5, Interesting)
This isn't an "answer" to Starlink. Nobody asked Amazon for an answer either.
This isn't even a challenge to Starlink.
This is one prototype antenna sending a signal to a rented transponder on one existing geosynchronous satellite.
It seems like a neat antenna design for a prototype. Kudos to the electronics team and sorry the press dragged you into this shitshow.
Maybe, in several years, they could launch some competition.
Reportedly STM Microelectronics in Germany is building one million Starlink Dishys (integrated terminal equipment) right now.
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"If it isn't a challenge to Starlink, then why did he get permission from the FCC to launch 3,236 satellites ...?"
Because he asked. Anybody can do it.
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I asked last week. Very easy process.
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150W each, that's 150MW just for the terminals.
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150W each, that's 150MW just for the terminals.
What is 150W? The only use of the number "150" I can find in the summary or linked articles is 150 mbps, the upper end of the data rate that SpaceX is saying they expect to provide.
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Beta testers report that it uses 150W from the AC outlet.
That's not enough information (Score:2)
How many connections can it sustain that 400 mbps over? That's the key question for these satellites --Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper .. how many users, per satellite, can simultaneously get at least 10 megabits per second?
Not exactly a prototype (Score:2)
This is a laboratory demo. It's not a product prototype. You couldn't actually install this anywhere and make it work, because there's still a whole lot of puzzle pieces missing. It's simply a lab demo of a new antenna concept.
Bezos should stick to sending packages and books. (Score:2)
I mean does he get the prize for least innovative CEO yet?
Virgin CEO creates new company, hopes to launch tourists into space. Bezos: OMG I WANT THAT TOO.
SpaceX CEO creates new company, hopes to launch satellites for internet. Bezos: OMG I WANT THAT TOO.
Apple CEO creates Siri, a new personal assistant which hopes will revolutionise life: Bezos: OMG I WANT THAT TOO.
Netflix CEO creates the world's largest online streaming service: Bezos: OMG I WANT THAT TOO.
And he wants to run a games studio, video production
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And if the billionaires paid the same rate of tax as everyone else [instead of hiring fancy accountants and using international shell companies to hide their wealth] maybe the rest of us wouldn't have to pay quite so much...
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I have no problems with Billionaires spending their money. At least people ultimately benefit from developments which necessarily result in R&D. I just have a problem with Mr MeeeTooo not having an original thought.
Supra-National Coordination Required... (Score:2)
The problem here is that it may only take a single collision to cause a debris field that has a major impact upon our access to space. OK, so the chances of all access being cut off [the worst-case, doomsday scenario] seems pretty unlikely, but that's not quite the point. As the
Police radar impact? (Score:1)
I see this is Ka band which is the same as the band used by police and as a result, radar detectors. Will this interfere with the police usage of Ka or radar detectors?
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I must repeat: That (13.5 GHz) is a lot of bandwidth!
Pollute the sky (Score:1)
With crappy satellites.
A Vision of the Future (Score:1)