The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Amazon's request to expand its low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, allowing the deployment of 4,500 additional satellites and bringing the total to approximately 7,700. Since launching its first batch of Leo internet satellites in April last year, Amazon has successfully launched over 150 and plans to provide satellite internet through Leo services later this year. The next batch of satellites will belong to the second-generation orbital system, supporting more frequency bands and expanding coverage areas. The FCC requires Amazon to launch 50% of the approved satellites by February 10, 2032, and complete full deployment by February 10, 2035. Currently, Amazon is striving to meet the deadline for deploying 1,600 first-generation satellites by July 2026, although it applied for an extension to July 2028 or an exemption from this deadline last month, with the FCC yet to issue a ruling. In contrast, SpaceX's Starlink service significantly leads in both satellite count and user base, with over 9,000 satellites in orbit, approximately 9 million users, and an application to deploy 1 million satellites in Earth orbit to provide computing power support for AI.
