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Amazon’s Rival Starlink Makes a Critical Step towards Deployment

Amazon’s Kuiper network of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites has reached a milestone. Its two orbiting satellites are now able communicate at high-speed data transfers using Optical Inter-Satellite Link(OISL) technologies, as the company announced last week.

OISL is an important component of Kuiper’s mesh architecture that uses infrared to transmit data between satellites. Amazon says it has been able to maintain stable connections between two prototypes satellites, despite a data transmission speed of 100 gigabits/second and a 621 mile distance.

The company announced on its news website that these tests have validated the final component in Project Kuiper’s advanced communications architecture. This will ensure OISLs are operational on the first production satellites scheduled to launch in the first six months of 2024.

Rajeev Badayal, Project Kuiper Vice President for Technology, said that with optical intersatellite communications across the satellite constellation of Project Kuiper it will operate as a “mesh network” in space.

Amazon said that by creating a space mesh network, it would be able increase throughput, reduce latency, and give users more flexibility in connecting to the network from land, sea and air.

“Satellite-to-satellite communication is where there’s often a bottleneck,” said Peter Chahal, network and telecommunications research director at IDCA global market research and consulting firm.

TechNewsWorld reported that “by having this optical network, Amazon can address latency concerns.” By having optical intersatellite communication, it will maintain better performance and reduce latency.

AWS – Leveraging AWS

Amazon also noted that using OISLs can help move data around the world faster. Kuiper’s orbital optical mesh network is able to transfer data up to 30% faster compared with terrestrial fiber optic cables because light travels more quickly in space.

Project Kuiper also benefits from Amazon AWS infrastructure and service. Chahal stated that Amazon will not only have OISL between its satellites but also ground stations located near Amazon data centers to maintain high performance and low latency on the network.


Kuiper has a complex architecture compared to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink network of LEO satellites, which is based on a point-topoint architecture. For the laser links to remain strong, the light spread over distances as high as 1,616 miles must be minimized. Then, the connection needs to be maintained between spacecraft moving at speeds of up to 15,534 miles per hour — and all of that has to be achieved while compensating for satellite and flight dynamics.

Amazon claims that all of this complexity will pay off in the form of the ability to send and receive data from anywhere on the planet via its space mesh network. The company is able to provide secure, resilient connectivity for a large number enterprise and government sector customers.

Amazon said that this capability was especially useful for customers who operate in areas without nearby ground stations, such as cruise ships in the middle or the ocean, or aircraft flying across the Atlantic. It allows them to safely uplink data to any destination on Earth and transmit it via space using laser communications.

Good November for Kuiper

Kuiper Government Solutions Vice-President Ricky Freeman stated in a press release that Amazon’s optical network would provide multiple paths for data to be routed through space. This will create resilience and redundancy, allowing customers to safely transport information across the globe.

He continued: “This is important for those who want to avoid communications architectures which can be intercepted and jammed.” We look forward to making this capability available to customers in the public sector looking to move data from remote areas to their desired destinations.

Kuiper’s November milestones culminated with Amazon’s announcement of its OISL.

In a report, Victor Xu, an analyst, wrote: “Successful testing has showcased the first 2-way video call, Ultra HD video streaming in 4K from Amazon Prime Video and the first ever Amazon.com transaction conducted over Amazon Kuiper SatCom’s network.” ABI Research, a global firm of technology intelligence.


He continued: “These tests validated all subsystems and systems on Project Kuiper’s prototypical satellites. They have marked an important step forward in the Kuiper Mega-constellation which is a planned satellite constellation of 3,236 low earth orbit satellites.”

He also said that ABI had predicted that global satellite broadband revenues would reach US$18.5billion by 2030. That represents a CAGR of 13.9% from 2022- 2030.

Technology analyst said: “The future delivery of the Internet will be very different than what we are currently using.” Jeff Kagan.

He told TechNewsWorld that satellite internet connectivity would play an increasing role in the society. “It’ll bring internet service to places that don’t have it and will give people a choice where they are only limited in options.”

Bezos Burger Bar

Kuiper has made some progress, but it still has a way to go before catching up to Starlink. Starlink already has 5,420 orbiting satellites. John Strand of the National Geographic Society said: “You could say Jeff Bezos shares the same dream as Elon Musk, but the difference is Elon has already achieved what Jeff Bezos hopes for.” Strand ConsultTechNewsWorld spoke with, a Danish consultancy firm that has a strong focus on telecom.

Jeff Bezos opened his first Burger Bar. Elon Musk owns McDonald’s,” he quipped.

“If you take a look at the future, Starlink will have the advantage,” said he. “They have access to cheap lifting capacity — the capacity that is the foundation for setting these satellites up in space.”

He said that Starlink’s satellites give it an advantage, not only in the space, but also on earth. Starlink will be viewed by many governments as a viable alternative to other infrastructure providers when you consider the regulatory challenges facing this industry. This gives them better access with national regulators.

“It’s wonderful that Amazon is trying out new technologies,” he added. “Competition in the market is healthy, but Kuiper doesn’t disturb Starlink’s sleep.”